A mature (sometimes) Teenager!!

Mature and teenager.

These words tend to be an oxymoron!! They are not usually used in the same sentence, but I have to share the maturity of my 13 1/2 year old son, Landon.

For the past several months, Landon's 8th grade class has been planning a trip to NYC. This was to be the culmination of three years of hard work and studying in the MYP program before graduating to high school next year. Two broadway shows, Ellis Island, Museum of Art and just the excitement of a big city were all of the things that Landon has been anticipating for months. He also earned half of the money himself to travel there by babysitting, dog sitting and saving his allowance diligently. Many memories were to be made with friends and adults that are very special to him.

Last Wednesday evening, he was all packed and ready to go. Suitcase, pillow, blanket for the bus, plenty of snacks, fully charged Ipod, digital camera, warm clothes, borrowed boots, gloves, a warm beanie and one very happy teenager......

He left for school on Thursday with a jump in his step knowing that in 24 hours his dreams of NYC were going to become reality.

Thursday afternoon though....Mother Nature had her own plans. Snow storms and a major winter storm warning became reality as the Northeastern part of the US was blanketed with snow and ice. By 5:00, the trip had been cancelled. My heart was broken when I heard the news. I know that when I am looking so forward to something and it doesn't come to fruition, I tend to pout and wonder why, why, why??? Landon texted Dan and me and let us know about the disappointment.

About an hour later, we met Landon at Lynnhaven Middle for his wrestling match that afternoon. I didn't really get to talk with him before he wrestled, but could definitely see that his mind was focused on his match and he didn't look as disappointed as I would have thought. Afterwards, we asked him if he would like to go to dinner as some sort of consolation for the cancellation of his trip. He agreed and we had a great family time together.

The discussion with Landon showed that he was disappointed in the outcome of events, but that overall it was okay. His optimism was to be commended. He was positive about the possibility of re-scheduling and he understood the danger that traveling in the winter weather posed.

When we arrived home from dinner that evening, Landon called down to me from his room....."Hey mom, now since our trip is cancelled, I can go to the Middle School program at church this weekend!" "You sure can, I answered.

I was blown away by this comment. I had been bummed that Landon was going to miss this program at church entitled W3 that was discussing relationships between girls and boys. Several of his friends were attending, but Landon wasn't scheduled to go because he was going to be in NYC. Now, he could attend and he wanted to and was excited about it!!

This (in my eyes) is maturity that I don't know if I could have displayed if I would have been in Landon's situation. He accepted the situation for what it was and moved forward never looking back.

God knew that all of this was going to happen. I believe that God knew that if they traveled to NY that it was a safety issue and that His mighty hand was protecting all of the precious children and adults that would have been traveling. I also believe that His plan was for Landon to be at church this weekend, learning more about Him and how to incorporate His plans into his life. Landon accepted all of this with an open and willing heart.

I am so proud of my son!!

SO, even though the words maturity and teenager tend to not be used in the same sentence very often, this is a time when I can clearly say that I am seeing fruit from my son that makes my heart swell!!