This has been a tough year emotionally for us as a family. I lost my sister at the beginning of March, she was only 37 and the youngest of my siblings. Far too young to succumb to the pressures of life, I thought at the time.
Earlier this week we almost lost my older son, our middle child. He’s battling anxiety, depression, and an uncanny knack for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and getting caught.
He’s had a number of run-ins with “the law”, all over incredibly minor offenses that, in my teen years, would have received no more than an escort to the house, the officer having a conversation with my parents, and then swift retribution coming my way (from my parents).
Not today, it seems. These days we seem to be meting out swift justice onto a generation of teens no more capable of making adult decisions than we were at that age. And yet we punish them as if they are capable of making those decisions and thus should be held accountable to the ultimate authority (today, that’s the state) for making them.
We are destroying this generation of teenagers.
I see it in the faces of the kids who, like my son, feel they have no hope. I read it in their ramblings on Facebook and in their angry tweets. I hear it in the desperation of the teens trying to find jobs, only to discover that the jobs my generation had when we were teens are filled by adults willing to work for minimum wage.
The Rainbow
One of my sister’s favorite movies was The Wizard of Oz, and one of her favorite songs was Over the Rainbow. It was played at her wake.
Her husband tells us that when he returned to their home the afternoon she died, out of nowhere a rainbow appeared in the sky overhead. He knew, as do I, that Erin sent it his way.
As we returned yesterday from the hospital where my son is recovering, this rainbow appeared in the sky. She sent us this one yesterday as well, to remind us that
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Call To Action
My mission statement is “Empowering you to make an impact”. Please use the comments section to help me discuss some ways we can free this generation of teens from the bonds we impose on them, and from the ones they imagine themselves to have.