The weather has been stunning and I have taken to meditating out on the decking by our bedroom door. Even with my limited sight, the sounds, smells and warmth have been very powerful and life-affirming.
Our son has been home and has helped progress the cutting down of the Leylandi. But. in amongst his helpful periods, he has left enough messages sublimally to help us realise he is going through a tough period right now. I think it is harder than ever to be a teenager these days. Our young are exposed to so much that it is little surprise that they find it almost impossible to decipher what is and isn't acceptable or life-enhancing behaviour. Without any clear filters through which to assess all that is thrown at them, I suspect many adolescents spend vast amounts of time very frightened at the deepest level. Carrying a knife is more about fear and an inability to make sense of situations in a safe, non-confrontational way than it is about bravado.
I wonder what the most helpful response is to the challenges facing our children. Clearly protecting them or judging them are both equally counter-productive. Perhaps all we can do is to show as clearly as possible how we cope - without thrusting our value systems down their throats; maybe all we can do is listen and encourage them to trust their instinct and judgement. Maybe all we can do is to be effective boundary keepers - drawing the line in the sand which it is advisable not to cross. We then have to stand back and, now and again, watch them deliberately rub the line out, kick the sand up behind them and march off into the middle distance! It is hard - but an important part of testing boundaries and making one's own mind up. I am currently washing the sand out of my eye!
Humph now weighs 16.45kg and looks like a 'proper' dog - although his coat is a bit of a giveaway! He still resembles an enormous fluff ball!
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