teenagers
The oncologist looked at Hal skeptically. “Well,” he conceded, “if you feel up to it, you can travel. And you can speak from the platform. But you can’t stand around shaking hands afterward – your immune system is going to be completely shot.” The results had come back from the biopsy – he had advanced…
In this series, we've talked about why a formal "coming of age" ceremony can be useful. We discussed ideas about who to invite, who to have as a presenter, and what sort of presentation to have. Last post, we talked about the role of celebration - what sort of entertainment and fellowship you might include.…
At our sons' coming-of-age ceremonies, we aim to gather the wisdom of significant men in the young man's life and offer encouragement, welcome, and exhortation in a public, family-oriented setting. But it's not all teaching and ritual. Another thing we do is invite our guests to rejoice in this time of growth. Our family's birthday celebrations…
People often ask if we'd describe what we do for a coming-of-age ceremony with our boys. Surely with six boys we've done something of the sort … and the answer would be, “Yes, indeed!” You've probably heard of the Jewish “Bar Mitzvah” tradition – where a Jewish boy is officially welcomed to adult status in…
When we were teenagers, we couldn't wait to get our driver's license. It was a step toward adulthood, and we were eager to have the independence that driving represented. All our friends felt the same way, and our parents encouraged it. Recently, though, we've been hearing something which frankly surprised us. We were listening to…
At the reception following Max’s bar mitzvah, the 13-year-old’s father raised the toast, “Today you become an adult ... yeah, right.” Everyone laughed, including Max, but clinical psychologists Joseph and Claudia Allen found the contrast between the traditional ceremony and the modern reality very pointed. Their book, Escaping the Endless Adolescence: How We Can Help…
Several years ago, it occurred to us that maybe the teenaged years didn't have to be full of anger, rebellion, and sullenness. Just because we went through it or saw it in our friends growing up, does that mean it has to be that way? Is that what you see in the Bible? Through history?…