teenage joy
It was a quiet Monday when I picked up my older boys from a friend’s island cottage. Gorgeous and sunny. Not too hot. The normally busy lake was calm and quiet. Water like glass. It was one of those magical summer afternoons where the water sparkled as if fairies were dancing on it. I felt an instant calm wash over me.
As we pulled into the dock I smiled. The boys were playing a game of tag moving between the boathouse roof, the water trampoline and the dock. There would be quiet moments followed by a rush of splashy activity with various shouts, laughter and the occasional swear word thrown in as someone was caught and tagged “it”. The pure joy of the moment was like something out of a movie. They were playing like little kids again without a care about what others think or feeling the need to impress anyone.
These boys have known each other a long time. There is an ease and comfort in how they interact. They bash and crash around. There is non-stop banter back and forth and they never stop eating. The teenage boy brain both fascinates and drives me bonkers. They are loud, crazy and, at times, clueless about which direction their limbs are going. Then, in the blink of an eye, they are curious, insightful and loving. On that sunny afternoon as I got out of the boat they came over and greeted me all dripping wet and wanted to eat (again).
We later went out in the boat for an early evening wake-surf. In a rare moment, we were the only boat on the lake. After the boys all surfed, they wanted to do flips off the boat. And I was to video it. They leapt off the back of the boat in quick succession then reviewed the video on my phone whilst dripping all over me. It took a few attempts to get it how they wanted and it amused me as they sorted out who was going when. What I will remember most about that moment though is not the picture-perfect flips or carefully timed entries but the laughter. The hooting and hollering. And the joy.
As the last boy flipped into the wake, the boat slowed and started to turn to pick everyone up. For a moment, the four laughing teens, without a care in the world, were bobbing away in the deserted, perfectly calm waters. They were invincible. Their joy filled the lake and the spaces beyond.
When, in recent memory, have I felt that level of pure joy? That feeling of everything else in life fading into the background and living completely in the moment. As an adult, it is hard to pause when there are a million thoughts running through my mind at any given time. But seeing those boys in the lake on that perfectly calm evening reminded me of the power of living in the moment, breathing it in and, just briefly, not having a care in the world.
It is not always easy being a parent of teens. They eat non-stop, a “plan” is only confirmed moments before it happens and they keep you up at night. But there is something about teenage laughter and joy that is contagious. I find myself smiling when I hear their cheerful banter and roars as they run around outside.
We live in a pandemic-world right now that feels heavy more often than not and I am reminding myself to find my inner teenager every once in a while. Live in the moment and let the laughter wash over me. Turn off the news and find my inner silly. Fill my heart with joy.
And the boys, well, after all their shenanigans, and after eating their way through a giant McDonald’s order, they were quiet in the car on the way home. Leaving me to drive in peace. My thoughts interrupted only by the not-so-occasional toot from my stinky passengers.
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