Onward and Upward

Some further, highly unscientific research into the brains of teenagers (conducted while sitting around in Central Park yesterday) has revealed a couple of interesting things.  First, one mother of two teenagers suggested that the earlier the trouble, the better.  One of her sons had his moment, shall we say, when he was about Mr. 12's age.  It was difficult but everyone recovered nicely and the rest of his teenaged years were pretty reasonable.  Her other son experienced his moment when he was a bit older - around 15.  The troubles a 15 year old can get into are far more troubling than a 12 year old.  So we count our blessings, right?  But really, what causes the unhappiness and struggle is the distance between expectations and reality.  Always.

The second interesting thing was that everyone agreed that teenagers need almost as much personal attention as toddlers, despite their seeming ability to live pretty well on their own.  This must be combined, however, with a good dose of real, serious responsibility.  Just the usual parental, do-the-impossible balancing act.  If nothing else, it keeps me humble.

In the meantime, we came across this interview between Stephen Colbert and Michael Joachim.  I found it very inspiring.  If I were 20 years younger and light years smarter, I would be laying myself on their doorstep, offering whatever I had to be a part of their vision.  Instead, I turned to Mr. 12 and said, "Now that's something to do in life!"  And to my surprise, he agreed!

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Mitchell Joachim
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