Then and Now: How Our Memories Can Make the Teen Years Wonderful

This is a sponsored post on behalf of The Center for Parent and Teen Communication.
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THEN

She was quiet, so quiet. She stood in the shadow of her older sister who did everything she couldn’t do. She desperately wanted to be like her and followed her around constantly. She was a late bloomer - walked late, talked late, cut her first tooth late. She was a builder, a tinkerer, a lover of how things worked. She would take apart electronics just to see what the inside looked like. Never mind that her little hands couldn’t figure out how to put them back together. She was a snuggler, always wanting to be held and loved. Her bed overflowed with stuffed animals, barely enough room for her to squeeze in. She was an artist, always wanting to draw or paint or create. What she wanted most was to be noticed. She loved all things princess and was a little girly girl. Her eyes were the bluest I had ever seen. They shone bright, just like her smile.

NOW

She is 16. She is still a builder, a tinkerer, a lover of how things work. This time, when she takes something apart, she can put it back together. She builds robots. She loves math. She wants to be a mechanical engineer so she can create animatronics. These days her bed isn’t overflowing with stuffed animals, but she still is a snuggler and loves her family. While she is machining a part in the school workshop, she’ll probably also be messing up her freshly painted nails. She no longer follows in the path of her older sister but instead, SHE is the leader. She teaches, she mentors, she is always the first to volunteer. I look at her and see the little girl she was, and marvel at the accomplished woman she has become. Her eyes are still as blue and they still shine just as bright.

Ask me what my favorite parenting age is and I’ll say the teenage years every time. I feel blessed to be able to take this journey with my kids. If you love your teens (of course you do), you’ll want to check out The Center for Parent and Teen Communication - an amazing new resource for every parent navigating the teen years. You can get a taste for the type of advice you’ll find with this post from the director, Dr. Ginsburg.