La La Land Mommy: He’s A Teenager Now And I’m Scared
Last Friday Tyler officially became a teenager. I am thrilled, scared, and sad at the same time. Him becoming a teenager has so many meanings to me. That means eventually he will be more into girls and the possibility of sex is higher, and he’s going to have to learn how to hide a boner, I guess? He told me he wants to wait until he gets married but still the temptation is still out there. Soon he’ll be on the roads driving a car or a scooter. In literally a few years we could be sat at the computer trying to compare scooter insurance. Where is the time going? He is closer to adult hood than I would like him to be. My time with him is limited cause I’m sure eventually he is eventually going to want to go out on dates and hangout with his friends more. I have to accept that he is no longer my sweet baby but my sweet young man. Now lets get down to my biggest fear.
You see right now my son is this sweet appearing non-threatening young man. He has not yet hit his full height. Looking at genes on both sides of our family my son has the potential to be about six feet and some inches. This weekend I read about at least 3 more cases of unarmed black men being shot. I so don’t want this for my son. The Husband and I are going to teach him the best that we can to handle certain situations but in the end there is still a chance that he can some day be mistaken for someone who is doing wrong when he isn’t. All I can do is pray every day when he leaves the house.
I also worry about all of the additional pressures that today’s teenagers face in modern society. Every day they are bombarded with images of perfect-looking people and they come to believe that they are also supposed to look like that. They think, well if there are so many beautiful people on TV and in films and on social media and in adverts, why aren’t I beautiful too? Is there something wrong with me? I know many teenagers now buy IG likes, for example, to get more activity on their Instagram feeds. This can help them to feel verified by society, but I hope they know they don’t need verification from their peers to feel beautiful. I try to tell Tyler he is beautiful, but him being him he just shrugs it off!
All I can do is enjoy every day with him. He is such a sweet and smart young man. He is my little man who enjoys wrestling, hanging out with his family, video games, and still loves to give his mom a hug and a kiss every once and a while. I will enjoy his funny jokes and his random facts about animals. I will watch him and his sister play and listen to their dreams about one day running their own business empires. They have biggest dream. His dad and I will do everything we can that he grows into a grown man and become whoever he wants to be. Despite what someone will perceive him to be. I am going to enjoy his teenagers years and make sure he enjoys them to the fullest as well. My baby is officially a teenager.
