When I was young my sister and I went to a dance on a Saturday night and always were expected home at a reasonable hour. We could be sure that Mum would be waiting up for our return. If we were late, we would be in big trouble and grounded for a few weeks.
Chris likewise when a 16 year old forgot to tell his mother that he had gone for a spin in his friend's new car one evening and received a smack across the ear for coming home at 3am! She was a nervous wreck!
I can well remember when my children were teenagers. They would be getting ready to go out when my husband and I were getting ready for bed.
The hours went by so slowly as I watched out the darkened window of our bedroom as I waited for them to get home.
There's nothing more lonely than hearing every distant car in the night and seeing headlights, only to realise it's not your teenagers coming home.
I can't count the times I have implored the LORD to watch over them and bring them home safely. Indeed, having children and now adult grandchildren sees me talking to Him about them even more than I talk to them about Him.
A lot of teenagers are now in their own car, with their own phone and heading who knows where. Till all hours.
I realise that they now have mobile or cell phones, but back in the day we hadn't got them. A home phone was not for most either and the wait to make sure our teens were OK and safe was an anxious time. It made the heart race and the imagination go wild at times.
We had boundaries and in general we kept within them. To see our parents up and waiting for us gave us a feeling of being loved, even if we also held a little resentment due to teenage rebellion.
Today's teenagers are lucky if they even see their parents much these days. It is the fortunate ones who have at least one parent to look out for them.
Once again I see the wisdom in not having children after a certain age. The world may have changed, but a mother's care for her children does not. It is a young woman's game.
As I reflect on the loss of accountability and responsibility of parents raising teenagers, I feel that I would still be "old school" and worry and wait up for them. And with the world being so fast paced and frankly, uncaring, I think our teens would probably enjoy the attentiveness of a parent waiting up for them.
Not for the first time, I feel we need more of this!
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. Isaiah 49:15