I know I can't help getting older, every second of every day, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting crotchety as well. I prefer to think of myself as "grounded in reality", but still....
I'm friends with a lot of high school kids at church, and nearly every week someone is falling in love with someone else, and they've always got to tell me all about it. If not at church, then later online. I listen, and smile, and nod. Oh he's so great, we're perfect for each other, we're going to get married. You know how it goes. Isn't he so awesome?
For some reason (see title) I feel compelled to point out that no, in fact you will not get married and live happily ever after. How do I know this? Because you're 15 years old, that's how. You'd fall in love with a tree stump if it could listen to your stories without wandering off.
Oh no, you don't understand, we're in love! What can I do but sigh? Look, most marriages fail. I imagine that the failure rate for high school relationships is something like 95%. In my mind, I'm concerned for these kids, I don't want to see them all broken-hearted and hurt... but maybe it's futile. who knows.
In a month or so we'll talk again. Oh Michael, you were so right. He's such a jerk! Yes, I know, he's 15 too. Welcome to real life. Still, I feel complicit in stealing a little bit of innocence that I wish they never had to lose.
The innocence would have been stolen regardless of what you said, the circumstances demand it. Predicting the weather doesn't mean you're in control of the tornado. What they need more that anything is someone they can trust to tell them the truth, every darn time, even if the truth isn't what they want to hear. Even when the storm beats down again, I think they'll instinctively turn back to that trustworthy port. And they'll hopefully be better off for it in the event that you give good advice. Do ya?
Of course I do! How can you ask that?! Just look at all the brilliance on my website!
In high school I was one of those teenage twits who dated all the time and wondered why it never worked out. A good friend of mine went off to college and came back to tell me that I should really lay off the dating, as it would most likely on end up in heartbreak. I ignored her. What a fool I was. Thankfully, I learned my lesson and I was blessed with some younger friends who actually took my advice when they asked for it. It was nice to see someone learn from my mistakes.