Modern Day Samaritan Woman

Birthday Boy / Testing Engine Performance/ passing milestones…

 My step son turned 18 today. Unbelievably the 14 year old boy I met 4 years ago morphed into a man before my very eyes and like all teenagers he has tested my patience and endurance at every conceivable opportunity he could find. (and probably will continue to do so). Equally he has been a source of endless pleasure and love.

Proverbs 23:15 – 16 “Dear child, if you become wise, I’ll be one happy parent. My heart will dance and sing to the tuneful truth you’ll speak”.

This is my “Boy/Man” and I am so very proud of him.

He is adventurous, ready to test and try just about everything and he believes he is invincible. This boy of “mine” is able to take an engine or gear box apart and reassemble them in next to no time at all. At the drop of a hat he is able to mix, bake and decorate a birthday cake and/or prepare a a-la-carte meal. He is so versatile that he is more than able to take care of himself…... 

Yet!!! As he stands on the threshold of manhood I want to wrap him up in bubble wrap, put him in a box and hide the box in my handbag to keep him safe.

I’m so aware of the possible/probable challenges he is going to face.

• ·         The euphoria of real love and the very real physical pain of rejection.
• ·      The stress of finding a suitable job and the pleasure of finding his own apartment and paying his own.
• ·         The mundane and tedious task of getting up every solitary morning and plodding off to work when he would much rather be at home, snug in bed.
• ·         The decisions he has to make all by himself because he is the one who has to live with his choices.

A few months ago this boy of mine was particularly difficult and we seemed to be in conflict several times a day. So, I asked him what the problem was. Why was he testing the boundaries I had set, because surely by now he should have realized they weren't going to budge?

He answered almost immediately and with a very cheeky smile he said that just as all vehicles have to occasionally be run hard on the open road just to check whether the engine was performing at optimal level, so too was he just checking to see whether 

“Mom” was operating at optimal level.

Well he is just about ready to spread his wings and fly, as did his step siblings ahead of him and his safety net will always be in place….

And this mom is proud…and fearful because with every passing day he is stepping closer to flying from the nest all together.

Happy Birthday Andrey!!! You are a blessing and loved beyond words.

*Hugs* till next time.

Ariéte