During the teenage years, you may feel like you're losing them, even though they are only a few feet away.
Suddenly, you'll be enjoying every moment with them, and the next moment, you'll wonder who is this person in your home.
Those simple days when you were there everything, from home-cooked meals to happy family outings and being a pillar of strength when they were hurt or just needed you.
To now, you fade into the background, holding tight to the child you once knew amidst a world filled with smartphones, apps, rooms, peers, and part-time jobs.
Looking back, you wonder what went wrong and wish for just a moment to relive those days again, hearing laughter and having your house filled with love and excitement.
And now, seeing this new person reject you, ignore you, or lash out at you makes you feel so inadequate as a parent that you want to cry or scream inside.
You pick your battles, you stay in your lane, sometimes you lose your cool, you will beat yourself up, you will try the next day again, and the loop doesn't end…
Until one day, something shifts…
Suddenly, they will seem entirely different to you. You'll be able to relate to them again and want to spend time with them, and they'll want to spend time with you as well.
They will have new interests, and they will be able to reason with you again.
In this junction (journey) between parent and child, the relationship shifts gears.
You do not need to be in the driver's seat anymore, be their passenger and enjoy the ride again. Even if it means getting lost along the way and then finding a new route back, take time to enjoy each other's company again and learn about one another again.
There are twists and turns and detours; life is not a straight line; sometimes, the most scenic roads are the ones you don't intend to take. So allow both of you to find your new route together, supporting one another. Let go of the wheel…
When you have good company, the road is never long, so see where the adventure takes you with this new person in your home, take turns being the driver and passenger and start making new memories one road trip at a time.
Written by: Jennifer Avery, Founder of Healthy Routes
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