I spent a couple of days at the end of last week taking my teenager girls and their friends to a church Youth Conference in Vermont.
There are times in the teenage years that are larger than life. A Youth Conference is filled with those kind of "moments". Here are some that I noticed.
Moment Number One: Meet your group
As the kids arrived, they were assigned to a group. I was helping the Purple Group, 18 teenagers - boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 18.
They started by playing get to know you games. I looked at each one. Some were confident; they were already at the top of the social landscape. Some looked scared but tried not to show it. Most were wondering "will I be accepted".
The moment happened after they had spent some time together. They were willing to try to build a human pyramid - lots of laughing and the realization that everyone was welcome in the group.
Moment Number Two: Visit the LDS Church memorial in Sharon, VT.
You don't hear much about faith in popular culture, unless it is the butt of a joke. An hour or two of learning about your religion and the opportunity for each individual to think about what they believe is a moment.
Moment Number Three: Tubing down the river
I volunteered to be one of the adults tubing along with the kids in the river. I noticed a teenage couple floating along. He was holding onto her foot as their tubes moved slowly down the river. They were laughing and oblivious to anyone else. A summer romance is a fleeting, but a happy moment.
Moment Number Four: The Dance
The kids were excited about the dance; there were "moments" all around.
Outside the door to the dance, a group of girls were sitting quietly. You can imagine them. A good looking young man came out, walked up to them and quickly asked, "is there anyone here who hasn't danced yet?" One of the girls said, "yes". He responded by saying, "then you and me - next dance". I don't imagine she'll forget that moment.
There was a younger boy dancing a slow dance with an older, taller, and very pretty girl. He got up the courage to ask, and she was nice enough to say "yes". He'll remember that moment.
What teenage moments do you remember?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
And a river runs through it.
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Ah, those wonderful teenage moments. Brings back memories of saving my toenail clippings for weeks to sprinkle them in my older brother’s bed when he was mean to me.
Even better was one dark night, when I was staring out our back window into our garden because I thought I heard a noise out there. I listened for a while and what sounded like someone slowly walking through a bunch of fallen leaves was really just a plastic grocery bag blowing in the breeze. Now that I had figured it out it was funny but moments before it was like being in a horror movie when the scary music starts. So I did what any older brother would do, I called over my youngest brother and whispered to him, “I think someone is in our back yard.” He looked at me with suspicion and said that I was just trying to scare him. I whispered urgently, “Joey! Someone is out there! Come here and listen.” So Joey crept up to the window with me and we both listened. For that moment there was no breeze and no rustling sound, just the chirping of crickets. Joey shoves me and whispers, “there is nothing out there. You’re just trying to scare me.” I responded, “It’s out there, just listen.” Joey turned back to the window and we both fell silent. At that very moment, the breeze picked up and a sound exactly like soft footsteps through dry leaves floated up to the window. Now, my brother Joey ran track and he was fast. He also specialized in the high jump and he could fly. But I never saw him run or jump like he did that night. He leapt away from the window and crossed the dining room in a single enormous bound. In my mind’s eye, I can still see him - face frozen in fear, eyes so wide that you could see the whites all around his dark brown irises, mouth open as if to scream but with only a strangled whimper coming out. He had the grace of a gazelle and the speed of a calico cat running from an angry German Shepherd named Bear (but that is another story). He flew to Mom for the protection that only a mother can provide. And I fell helplessly to the floor in spasms of uncontrollable laughter. Ah now that was a moment.
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