Oh the joys of being young and useless,
When everything your small hands did was fruitless.
And though you offered help, you couldn't.
It wasn't that you simply wouldn't.
And then the measuring stick gave a shout,
and signs of adulthood came about.
And the grown-up people suddenly said,
that your growing hands now had a duty.
And you no longer could offer help,
the work was simply given out.
Oh the joys of being young and useless,
when everything your small hands did was fruitless.
When everything your small hands did was fruitless.
And though you offered help, you couldn't.
It wasn't that you simply wouldn't.
And then the measuring stick gave a shout,
and signs of adulthood came about.
And the grown-up people suddenly said,
that your growing hands now had a duty.
And you no longer could offer help,
the work was simply given out.
Oh the joys of being young and useless,
when everything your small hands did was fruitless.
So, I applied for a job yesterday afternoon. Just a little part time job at a Dollar General that's being built nearby, so nothing drastic, but still, it's the first job I've ever had to apply for. All the other things I've worked were just people calling me up and asking me to come work this or that for them. So it was a little daunting and a lot scary and I ended up crying, which frustrated my mom because she's been trying to help me figure out what on earth I'm supposed to be doing with my life and it's kind of just spinning in circles at the moment.
A few years ago my dad said something that really stuck with me. I was sixteen and we were out doing chores and one way or another I ended up sobbing (I think it was something about boyfriends or my lack thereof- I can't remember for sure) and I said something to the effect that I had no clue what I was doing or supposed to do. And Dad looked at me and he said "You know how you're sixteen now and you don't know what to do? Well, I've never been a dad to a sixteen year old before and I don't know what to do."
For some reason that really drove home with me, because it never occurred to me that my dad might not know what to do. Sure, he had been sixteen at one point, but he had never been a dad to one. Which is really a duh, since I'm the oldest, but It was something I had never thought about before.
So I try not to get too upset with my parents now, because they're just as clueless as me. I'm not at all like they were when they were eighteen. They weren't in their parents head when they were at my stage. They've never raised an eighteen year old.
It's one of those things where everyone says "Trust God and pray about it" but almost in the same breath they're like "Well you have to do something."
And I know people mean well and are trying to help, so I'm not upset or anything, it just makes things a little hard for me.
A few years ago my dad said something that really stuck with me. I was sixteen and we were out doing chores and one way or another I ended up sobbing (I think it was something about boyfriends or my lack thereof- I can't remember for sure) and I said something to the effect that I had no clue what I was doing or supposed to do. And Dad looked at me and he said "You know how you're sixteen now and you don't know what to do? Well, I've never been a dad to a sixteen year old before and I don't know what to do."
For some reason that really drove home with me, because it never occurred to me that my dad might not know what to do. Sure, he had been sixteen at one point, but he had never been a dad to one. Which is really a duh, since I'm the oldest, but It was something I had never thought about before.
So I try not to get too upset with my parents now, because they're just as clueless as me. I'm not at all like they were when they were eighteen. They weren't in their parents head when they were at my stage. They've never raised an eighteen year old.
I am trying to trust God and pray about it, and I feel like applying for this job will at least be taking a step and seeing what will happen. Maybe the door will be closed, but maybe it will lead to something else. I'm hoping.
Growing up is super hard. I know I've broken down several times. I like what your dad said though, it really puts things in perspective, sometimes even your parents don't know what to do, but they are trying. My mom was saying the other day that only God really knows who you are, and who you're supposed to be, so He's the one you should go to with your doubts and frustrations.
ReplyDeleteI'm not all that sure that I even want to grow up sometimes. It was more fun being a kid, but there's a lot of great things and opportunities out there just waiting. Life is a big adventure, and it would be a shame to be too afraid to embrace it fully.
It is. I have little min mental breakdowns all the time. Yeah, I'd never even stopped and thought about it before.
DeleteI know that on the surface, but I always tend to forget it and drag my stuff around to people first for about ten tries before I get it around to God.
99% of the time I adamantly do not want to grow up at all. I would like to stay 16 forever. I agree though. Sixteen year olds can't exactly get married and do all the other cool things life has.