This morning I was getting ready for work when my thirteen year old daughter walked past me on the way to the laundry room to get some clothes out of the dryer. She had a towel wrapped up on her head in a beehive style trying to get it dry. I made a comment about the towel (which I thought was humorous) and yet she walked right on by never even acknowledging that I was even there.
It dawned on me then that my children (all teenagers)no longer think that I'm funny. My kids love me of that I have no doubt, but I have come to realize that where I used to be the center of their universe, that role has changed. This is actually something that I had not really considered happening in my life. So it has caught me a little bit off guard to say the least.
I kinda feel like echoing Captain Algren's thoughts in the movie "The Last Samurai". He is living amoung the Japanese people in their village, actually a captive, but one who has the freedom to move around and enjoy all that the village has to offer. As he is reading his journal post, he makes the comment that the people while friendly enough, treat him more like a dog that is living with them. Not an enemy, but not really worth much attention from them either. That's kind of how I was feeling this morning...a part, but not the most important part like I used to be.
And you know that's okay, it shows me that my kids are beginning to move out on their own and really become their own person. And after all isn't that what parenting really is about, teaching, training and helping your kids to become the person that God intends them to be...not someone who's parent is the center of their universe, but a part of it.
Of course a little tact from my daughter would have been nice, instead of just saying, "I didn't laugh daddy because it just wasn't funny." Oh well, just another day in the life of raising kids....life's good!
No comments:
Post a Comment