19 Oct 05 112972837775692804
What I witnessed last night gives me great encouragement about the youth of today. Some of them anyway!
I’ve mentioned before that Madison is helping a travel softball team as a practice catcher. On Tuesday night we drive over to one of the local high schools and while Madison is at practice Reese and I run around the track. In the next paragraph I will be describing something that happened on the run last night. If you wish to skip this detour and proceed straight to the story in progress simply continue to the next paragraph that is not indented.
I decided last night to push ahead and run an extra mile. Usually we run I mile together (without stopping) and we walk / run a second mile and then do some sprints. On the second mile we walk a lap run a lap. We are working on his conditioning for his soccer season. After we finished the first mile I kept going and told Reese it was up to him if he wanted to keep going or walk a bit. He stopped to get a drink of water. About half way around I heard the patter of little feet and sure enough, Reese had caught me. He thought that was pretty funny and stayed with me until we made it back around. I kept going and he stopped for another drink of water. Repeat actions for each lap. I figured out by the last lap that he was waiting to see how far ahead of him I could get before he could catch me. Catch me he did. Every single lap I would hear the pitter patter of little feet and as he got closer I would hear a giggle. He’s getting stronger and I’m getting slower. Pretty soon I’m going to have to find someone on supplemental oxygen to be my new running partner.
Reese and I finished our run and proceeded to shoot some basket on the basketball court near the area where Madison was practicing. We were on one side of the court and a group of high school girls were on the next court. There were five of them playing (they would rotate 1 person into the game) and they were having a good time. It turns out they were part of the basketball team for the high school. What impressed me about the girls was their language and attitude. Even when a little kid was trying to break into their game they were very polite and offered a second basketball for him to shoot around on the opposite court.
Following the game the girls all sat down of the court around a birthday cake. They put a tiara on one of the girls and sang, rather boisterously, Happy Birthday. They laughed, talked, ate cake and it was obvious they enjoyed being with each other. One of the dads, whose daughter was practicing with Madison, walked by and asked whose birthday it was. They identified the girl in question. He asked how old she was. To which the girl replied, “Today is my 18th birthday!” The girls finished their cake / party. Had a round of hugs and all left about the time we were headed home. It really was a nice sight to see.
Have you seen those adds on television that talk about the activities that kids are less likely to engage in if they participate in sports? I might have seen some evidence of that last night.
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My fellow slow (I’m certainly not a speed demon) angel, welcome to my world.
It is heartening to see teens acting with love, compassion, good humor, and character. I think in most cases being part of a “team” can be a positive influence in the lives of teens dependent upon the leaders of the team. With respect to my own son, the more he hangs with the kids in our youth group, the better his attitude is.
I think you may have put a finger on what’s wrong with my school year. It’s not just that the kids I teach this year are so challenging. It’s also that the kids I taught LAST year were so wonderful. I saw many examples of that attitude you described all year long. It went beyond just the fact that I found myself commending them every day…I found myself learning from them!
It’s nice to be reminded just how many GOOD kids there are in the world. Thanks, brother.
It must be a bad year for us teachers. I could echo the thoughts Steve shared about his kids compared to last year’s group. The kids I had last year despite going through 3 hurricance and a total of 10 missed school days were outstanding in both attitude and performance. The Lord is challenging me this year with a different kind of group who “try” to display a lot of disrespect. Their listening skills as a whole are lacking as well.
Then there’s my wife who teaches kindergarten. Her first day with her new group consisted of a 5 year-old child who told her to shut-up. It’s going to be a tough year for Steve, my wife, and yours truly. Keep us in your prayers.
I find the same encouragement when I spend any time around Jessica’s freinds … some of the best young people on the planet! The same is true of most of the young people at church. I wish it were true of ALL of the young people at church!
Greg, don’t we wish the same was true of “all” of the adults at church as well?
I wish this response thingy had spell check! But then how could it when we are asked to verify such words as xechps???
ype-tay sing-uay ord-Way or-fay pell-say heck-cay
I remember listening to people talk about teenagers like they were a disease you had to endure. I dreaded it until I had my own. I love the friends my kids hang around. They are good, compassionate, strong, intelligent, loving people.
Basically, I think people give what they get…and, if we expect goodness, more than likely, we receive it.
Sandra is so right about that. We learned with the “terrrible twos” that it wasn’t terrible unless that was the parent’s expectation. Same was true for the teen years. My brother in law said for about 6 years he literally hated his kids and then they grew out of the teen years. We had some disagreements w/ our children, but never the outright rebellious attitudes that so many others had. I think it was that we never expected it from our kids. They tend to try and live up to our expectations.
Oooh, I just have to interject something here. If someone has a rebellious, obnoxious or grumpy teen, it is not necessarily indicitive of poor parenting. I’m sure that’s not what any of you were saying, but I’d hate for someone to feel kicked in the gut.
I personally have two amazing children (all of three- & five-years-old), and they are turning out really good despite my best efforts to give them fodder for future counseling sessions!
The glory and pleasure of young people playing together.