This has been a fun week… and a week of reflection. My sister Mary Jane and her daughters Jayme and Victoria have been here visiting from Maine. We had a great opportunity to get caught up and create some new memories. I also love seeing my own life anew, by seeing it through the eyes of someone who is experiencing it for the first time (or in a long while).

However the real reflection for me was experiencing the beauty of youth and all of the challenges that go with it. It is interesting to see the choices that set up our attitudes and beliefs and how firmly they become ingrained in our journey. Yet as 17 and 15 year old girls/young women… They are so immeshed in learning, navigating, claiming and becoming who they are, that the opportunity to slow it down and understand the long term implications of their words and actions, appears almost impossible.

They want to rush to adulthood as if once they get there, none of life’s current challenges will be there. They are beautiful, and yet use words to describe themselves that have the potential to haunt and pressure them for years~until they finally set them down. They set limitations for themselves that right now protect them from standing out, that allow them to “fit-in” or even worse, to be invisible.

AND they are funny, smart, creative, and resourceful. They have a strong sense of what works for them and what doesn’t. They are finding their voice and their identities as they accelerate up the on-ramp to the highway of life.

I found myself caught between loving them exactly where they are… and the desire to take away all the awkward and uncomfortable situations. We all go through this rite of passage. We make it to the other side (adulthood) and most of us find our purpose, passion and place in the world. It must be our experience with the journey that makes us want to shield our young loved ones from this same well worn path. I had to constantly remind myself that when I was their age… I wasn’t looking for someone to save me or point the way. I wanted to be loved for being who I was… Skinned knees, bumps, and bruises from hard learned lessons and all.

I also had to remember that even if I wasn’t exactly an adult when I was their age, I wanted to be treated like one… at least in conversation. That my feelings, thoughts and words mattered. That because I was not “officially” an adult, didn’t mean that my experiences weren’t real and valid.

So for one week… I hope they felt seen and loved for who they are (by their two Uncles and Grandma too!). The gift of their visit will resonate for a long time… And the insight and perspective they shared will help to shape my own journey for times to come. A world view that is visible only through the eyes of a teenager!