My friend Robyn and I were talking this week and the conversation, as it usually does, went from kids, to husbands, to the weather, to exercise, to food!! One thing we settled on for a while though, was the idea of "rites of passage", those things that are a first and maybe only, that you share and experience with your child. Could be anything from that first bite of solid food, the first pair of big boy (or girl) pants, riding the school bus, or graduating from kindergarten to 1st grade. They are all of the accomplishements, both small and large, that shape our kids into who they are and what they become.
Robyn mentioned that they were probably going to the beach this year for vacation and since her daughter was the proud owner of a driver's permit, would probably be doing a stint behind the wheel to get some true highway driving practice. "I guess it will be her rite of passage", she sighed. Hmmm. That got me thinking. What rites of passage do we experience in our family? For years my husband has been rumbling around about how our son needs to learn to change the oil in the truck as though that would solve all of the problems of the world! Everyone needs to know how to change the oil in their vehicle, he would say! Bad grade on a test? Change the oil! Overslept and tardy for school? If only he knew how to change the oil! This past weekend I guess the bug got to him and my husband collected all of the necessary accoutrements for oil change history and corraled our son for the big event. I had other things to do. I did peek out occasionally and was surprised to hear them working very efficiently together! After about an hour, which included prep and cleanup, they had the job done!
After a nice hot shower, I gave our son a ride to a friend's house and he confided to me that it wasn't that hard and that he kind of enjoyed it! Now, he's more interested in music than in mechanical things so for him that a was a big deal. My husband says it would have been cheaper and less mess to take it somewhere else.
Who knew...right there...Rite of Passage!! I don't know how it compared in cost to the 10 minute oil change that I like, but the time they spent together and the confidence gained was priceless!
So If YOU have a Rite of Passage story, please post it to our public Forum. I'd love to hear about it!
