They warned me it would happen, but somehow, the shift felt like it happened overnight. One moment, my oldest son and I were completely in sync, sharing an effortless bond; the next, he was spending more time on his own, looking at me differently, and pulling away from my hugs. I thought I was prepared—I’ve read the parenting books (I highly recommend Lisa Damour’s The Emotional Lives of Teenagers) and listened to the podcasts—but this sudden change in our relationship still caught me off guard.
This rollercoaster of raising a teenager is as much my journey as it is his. It’s a bittersweet mix of emotions: I find comfort knowing he’s stepping toward independence, yet I’m also grieving the fact that our relationship won’t look the same as it once did. Here are some ways I’ve been navigating these changes…
