His Personal Journey of Discovery

It's very late Christmas Eve - actually it's so late Christmas Eve that it's technically Christmas morning - but I wanted to post a quick thought so I could remember to write more later. My son and I traveled to my sister's house for the holiday, a drive of about 6 hours in good weather and without too many rest area stops.

As is normal for he and I, we started talking as soon as the car went into gear. And as is normal for he and I, we discussed topics that I'm pretty sure the average 16 year old boy doesn't casually discuss with his mother on a road trip. Most boys, in my observations, would discuss music, TV/movies, friends, everyday events in their lives, right? Not my son... we discussed psychology, theology, history, the current political climate, racism, class ism, archeology, urban myths. We talked for 4 hours straight, with two short bathroom breaks. It was both stimulating and mentally exhausting. And one of the most impressive conversations I've ever had with him. Although I can't really remember all of the details, he made some exceptionally astute observations about himself and his peers.

The most amazing thing was witnessing firsthand his realization that he isn't actually the center of the universe; or at least, that his universe is now interacting with all the other universes around him. His self-discovery that the behaviors he sees in our neighborhood aren't the only behaviors that exist in the world. He admitted that his beliefs in what he thought was "completely normal", or the "but everyone does it" attitude, isn't as set in stone as he had perceived. To him, riding a city bus with a transient singing gibberish at the top of his lungs is to be expected, even commonplace. He's just now realizing that for many people, that isn't commonplace, and can be frightening to someone who has never experienced it before.

I am so proud of him. He's making observations of human behavior that men 2 to 3 times his age still don't see, much less understand. He's articulate, passionate, and very intelligent. Although school may not be his forte, he's well-read, and prefers to watch histories or biographies on TV or his computer. He's quite a young man, and I am so thankful that I have been able to spend this time with him, getting to know the man he is rapidly becoming. Watching his discovery of the world, and his explorations of his place in the world, often leaves me speechless. I have been truly blessed.