Staying Centered Isn’t Always Easy.

“What are you going to blog about?” asked my husband, John, before heading out to work.

“Finding balance,” I replied. “I took that pottery class a few weeks ago and think it had a lot of great applications to life.”

“Good choice,” he said. After he left I drove our high school kiddos to school, then rushed back to pick up our eighth grader.

I noticed Jack was wearing the same shorts he had worn for the last two weeks. Truth be told, ever since his last growth spurt, which added about 3 inches to his frame, he had been lacking in the clothing department. The shirts fit fine…but the pants, not so much. He only has one pair of shorts that look like something from Magnum P.I. and a pair of pants he is wearing to his brother’s wedding in a few weeks.

Yesterday, after school, when he got into the car I told him we were going to Target to get more shorts. He quickly negotiated for a large Icee.

Shopping with a teenage boy who could care less how many times a week he wears the same shorts, but, is looking forward to large cup of blue raspberry slush is not something to be taken lightly. In fact, a life coach near the customer service counter would have been helpful.

I spent about 30 minutes looking for a pair of Mediums in the sea of Larges, X-Larges, and Smalls. Thankfully, persistence paid off. With the shorts in hand, Jack went into the changing room.

“They are great,” he said a few moments later. “Let’s get the Icee!”

This should have been a big red flag.

When we got home, Jack disappeared into his room to work on homework, his lips a strange blue raspberry tint.

This morning I asked him why he wasn’t wearing his new shorts.

“They don’t fit,” he replied.

“What?” I looked at him. “We just bought them!”

“They are still a little big, but I will grow into them.” He shrugged his shoulders. “No worries.”

“You tried them on.” I replied. “Why didn’t you get a size that fit? We are going to have to take them back.”

“We can’t.” Jack heaved a sigh of resignation.

“Why not?” I asked. I could a stress crease forming across my forehead. “We just bought them yesterday.”

“I took off all the tags,” he said.

I couldn’t imagine Kate Middleton ever having a conversation like this with Prince George; then again, I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation right now.

“We can put them back on!” I said.

“I threw them in the trash can,” he stated. “It isn’t a big deal, they will probably fit by the end of summer.”

The thought of seeing him wear the same maroon gym shorts all summer made my stomach turn. I had visions of my peaceful moment in pottery class a few weeks earlier, a gift from my parents. The clump of clay was easily molded under the gentle pressure of my hands, which now held the steering wheel in a death grip.

I tried to breathe, but all I could think of was how fast our days become off centered and busy schedules veer off balance. I thought of how pottery related to not just parenting, but living. If we didn’t have the clay perfectly centered, the project would never survive once speed or pressure was applied.

Life with teens sometimes causes us to lose our balance. Sometimes we lose balance over big things, but sometimes it is just the hundreds of little things. Take time to breath, refocus, and find your center.

How wonderful to know some of the timeless Biblical truths.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.”

Lamentations 3:23-24

Not being consumed but being centered in the Lord’s great love. Ahh…that is comfort.

If we are lucky we can find the tags and I’ll take Jack to get different shorts, this time in the right size. We will start new, but the next time we go…he has to pay for his own Blue Raspberry Icee.