Monday, May 18, 2009

The Teenage Years

ChellBell invited a sweet friend to spend the night last Friday night.  The girls played so well together, and at one point I realized that it had been totally quiet upstairs for about 30 minutes.  So being a nosey Mom, I snuck upstairs and pressed my ear against Chell's bedroom door.  This is what I heard:

Amber:"Ummmm, LIKE, I wanted to get my ears pierced, but my Mother soooooooooo wouldn't let me!"
ChellBell: "That's TOTALLY wrong, and, ummmmm, Mom's should just try to be sooooo cool."
Amber: "Oh, I, LIKE, LOOOOOVE that top you're wearing!  
ChellBell: "Thanks, it's TOTALLY my favorite.  I just LOOOOVE the color sky blue."

On and On.  I was instantly transported back about 25 years to the land of Valley Girls.

But ChellBell doesn't normally talk Valley Girl, so I popped the door open a little bit more to get a full understanding of what was going on.  Each girl had a cell phone against her ear, and, even though they were sitting 4 feet apart, they were talking to each other on non-operating cell phones.

I had to ask the question.  "What are you girls playing?"  

The answer?  "Teenager"  "We are pretending to be teenagers talking to each other on the phone."

My first thought?  Why on earth would anyone want to pretend to be a teenager??  I can totally understand pretending to be a highly compensated doctor, or a teacher who changes students' lives, or even a famous rock star.  But a teenager?? 

The teenage years are tough.  You're starting to come in to your own, but you're not quite there (can you hear Britney Spears singing, "I'm not a girl, but not yet a woman").  Hormones rage.  Acne appears.  You're no longer that cute kid that you were 10 years prior.  You're a teenager.  Growing and learning about yourself and the world around you.  Trying to be comfortable in your own skin.  Wanting to be liked.  Wanting to be loved.

Today is May 18th, and Chris and I have now been married 13 years.  Thirteen.  We are now teenagers!  Life with Chris has been good these past 13 years, but there are some very teenager-ish things about being married this long.  We're not as cute as we were 10 years ago.  The "new-ness" and bliss of the newly-wed years have cured, like copper that used to be shiny and now has a very weathered patina.  But we've grown comfortable with each other.   And we can finish each other's sentences.  We know how the other thinks.  Sometimes blemishes start showing up that never popped up in the early years. But we work through those things.  And the patina gets darker.  

Even after 13 years, we're growing and learning about the world around us.  Still wanting to be liked.  Still wanting to be loved.

Chris, you do such a great job of loving me.  You somehow over look my faults and you just love me.  It's a privilege to walk through life next to you, seeing the world through your eyes and sharing my vision with you.  I'm crazy about you, still.  So hold my hand, and don't ever let go.

I love being a teenager with you.


16 comments:

  1. Happy "teenager" Anniversary to one of my favorite couples!!

    ~Becca

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  2. What a great post! You are an excellent writer. Happy Anniversary!

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  3. That is so stinkin' cute and beautiful! My anniversary is next week will you come over and write something that beautiful on my blog for me?! Happy Anniversary!!!!

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  4. Funny story...I'm sure Jamison is not too far behind. Happy Teenniversay to you and your hubby.

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  5. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post!! First of all, very cute story about Cella! If only being a teenager was as easy as goofy phone conversations!

    Congratulations on hitting puberty with Chris!! I still remember the very day you guys got hitched. Just doesn't seem like 13 years ago!

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  6. Happy anniversary!

    It is so funny that they were playing teenager. It sounds like they know that teenagers can sound rather silly.

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  7. What a cute post! Happy 13th. And as for those teenage years, I am smack right in the middle of them right now. Ugggh. (15 and 13) Just trying to push through and hope everyone comes out okay.

    XOXO
    Jen

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  8. Happy Anniversary! Be sure to stop by my blog - there is something you need to see. :)

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  9. Happy Anniversary! What a precious post, so beautifully written and with a double message!

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  10. Happy Anniversary you two! You are just as beautiful as your blog. PS. You definitely should write a novel. Very impressive writing...

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  11. happy anniversary! Greg and I will be 15 this year. We are almost adults...he he

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  12. Happy Anniversary! What a sweet and wise post! How cute about Chell and her friend! :)

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  13. hey girl - please email me your address to andrearhouse at yahoo dot com so I can send you your scarf!

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  14. Happy Anniversary! Lucky number 13 :-) we're coming up on 12 this December, so I know what you mean. The girls on the cell phones cracked me up, I LOVE listening to kids talk/play when they 'think' they're unobserved. What a hoot!

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  15. Just checking in to make sure you're doing okay! Hope you're away because you're having a super awesome week, full of super awesome things and your just too busy because of all the awesomeness!

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  16. Being a teenager isn't all bad. Remember: Mom and Dad still paid the bills and drove us around. :-) I just wrote about my sweet teenager...last day of middle school is today, and Mommy is a little sad, even as she smiles at the big girl! :-)

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