See, I Told You So!by Rich Andrews | More from this Blogger 11 Jun 2008 03:07 PM Recently, I had one of those parenting moments that made me smile. My oldest son (age 16) came home with a haircut. I had not pushed the idea of a haircut, but told him if he wanted to get job it would be a good idea. He really resisted the whole haircut thing and has gone jobless for months. Slowly, all of his friends were getting haircuts, and he decided to take the plunge. I hardly recognized him after he got the haircut. He looked 5 years older. He also looked taller - he doesn't have to slouch to be able to see through his bangs. He is a very handsome kid and I told him the girls were going to be calling here all of the time now. He was walking around; visibly bolder and more confident. I resisted the notion to tell him, "See, I told you so." I guess I better wait until he gets his first job before I start to gloat too much. It's just a matter of time before he starts to work. He'll be asking for the car keys, and then he will be too busy to spend time with his dad. It's kind of bittersweet really. You have pride that your child is growing up and maturing before your eyes. But you're sad because you know he will be gone from home soon and you're getting less and less time together. Time with friends becomes very important to them at this age. It reminds me of that song "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. The dad is too busy to spend time with his son when the child is young. Then, when the son is older and the dad has the time to spend with his son, the son is too busy. Maybe we just need to remind ourselves to make the time to be together with the ones we love while we still have time. We only have so many days to be together in this life. Don't let them pass you by. Related Articles: Who Are You Supposed to Be Today? Teenagers and Identity Spending One on One Time With Your Kids Speaking Your Child's Language Learn more about Rich Andrews  Rich has been married 20 years to his wife Laura. They have 4 children together, one with many special health and learning needs because of velocardiofacial syndrome. Relevantfatherhood tags child development | stress | spanking | relationships | parenting | marriage | love | children | christian | communication User Comments GboroCollege (50) 01 Apr 2009 05:08 PMWhen I was a teenager and lived at home I know that one of the only things I could control was my hair and hair cuts. And as much as it pains me to say this but teenagers will go to many lengths to defy their parents or attempt to control certain things in their life. The worst thing a parent can do is tease or criticize their child's hair because that is not going to make them want to get a hair cut any sooner. The best thing to do is do as you did and suggest that if he wants to be considered for a job he is going to need to cut his hair but try and be as supportive of your teenager as possible. Community Tags Hair and Clothing Styles, Identity with Culture, Spending Time with Your Kids, teenagers Discuss this article
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