Wake Up and Touch the Roses

Each and everyone one of us is like a rose - unique and beautiful.

For us parents, the beauty and uniqueness of each of our children radiates intense love from our eyes and through our hearts from that first moment we hold them in our arms. The natural desire to love them, care for them, protect them, and offer them the world - burns in all Parents, all the days forward from that first miracle moment.

They grow from infants, into toddlers, into children, into pre-teens, teens and young adults. Their growth is predictable. The change is continual and constant!

Precious and innocent when they are young, these tiny humans are totally unaware of the complexity of the world we live in, and this world they are born into. We parents are continually challenged to adapt to these growing human beings - for the age of innocence and their early years are fleeting.

For a period of time they ask for such things as dolls, legos, bicycles, video games, hugs, snuggles and kisses. Then the day arrives for which they ask for cell phones, Facebook pages, cars, later curfews, "their space" and privacy.

The age of "Innocence", seemingly overnight, turns into the age of "What Is Going On Here?" We as parents quickly are struck by the thorns which are part of the beautiful rose. Thus we must "wake up" as parents, and be willing and open to changing and adapting along the journey, so we can influence their lives in a positive, directional and supportive way!

The preteens and teens of today are racing faster and faster toward or through puberty - and that's NOT ALL that is going on! These beautiful and unique roses are literally flooded with new and profound information and experiences - drugs, alcohol, crushes, dating, sexual references and overtures, bullying, negative thoughts about school, mass consumerism, media onslaught, to name a few.

This flood of information, images and experiences are overwhelming and difficult to digest, integrate and make sense of - resulting in confusion and a magnitude of choices which they are confronted with daily.

I am absolutely convinced that these beautiful and unique roses cannot lean on their peers to make sense of all of this in a healthy positive way. They need us parents and communities to engage them in conversation and provide direction and safety as they navigate this time of their lives so the flood does not destroy and kill their potential, their opportunities and their future.

We must reach out, grab and take care of these roses, knowing that the thorns are part of the whole. For if we never stop to even look at the rose or only stand and observe a part of the rose - the beauty, afraid or uncertain of how to grab the rose, the flood will overwhelm their lives!

I myself am learning how to grab and handle my roses (two sons) being uncertain at times of just what to do or what to say, the only thing I am certain of is that I MUST engage ALL of the rose. I am discovering that if we engage, handle, care for and protect our roses - that they do seem to like it and in fact desire it. The result is they will grow and flourish.