Stories Along The Way

When I was a teenager, I did things I would never be comfortable with now as a parent.

I skipped school without my mother knowing. I told her I was going to one place when I was actually somewhere else. I broke curfew and sometimes lied about where I had been.

I wasn’t out doing terrible things, but I wasn’t always honest either.

It’s funny how life works. Back then, I didn’t think much about it. I was young, wanted my independence, and thought I knew everything.

Now the roles have reversed.

I’m the mother waiting for my teenage son to come home. I’m the one wondering where he is, what he’s doing, and why he suddenly turned off his location.

And now I understand what I couldn’t understand back then.

It’s not always about thinking your child is doing something wrong. Sometimes, it’s simply about wanting to know they’re safe.

I look back at my teenage years and wonder how many times my mother worried about me without my knowing. How many nights did she wait for me to come home? How many times did she question whether I was telling her the truth?

I never really thought about those things back then.

Now I do.

And the funny thing is, I see a little of my younger self in my son. The difference is that now I’m on the other side, trying to explain things I probably wouldn’t have wanted to hear at his age.

Life really does have a way of teaching us lessons.

Sometimes, we don’t understand our parents until we become parents ourselves.

And sometimes, the very things we once did are the things we now worry about our children doing.