Teenagers

 Yesterday Henry told me I was grinning like an idiot. Actually, his exact words were, "Mom, you're smiling creepily again." I couldn't help myself. 

We got our first batch of winter snow (surprising, since our fall was unusually snowy this year), and the ground was covered in a fresh layer of white. Thomas and Cora had been out playing in the snow with neighbors, and Henry had spent the afternoon making a snowman in the front yard. I was on the phone with my mom when our doorbell rang. I went to the door to discover two of Thomas' friends, shovels in hand, on our front porch. 

"Could we shovel your driveway?" I told them I'd have to check and see if I had cash, but at the very least I could offer hot chocolate and a snack. They beamed, and rushed to clear our driveway. As they were finishing up, my kids made their way home. I lined the kitchen island with mugs and poured out hot chocolate. I popped some popcorn in the microwave. And then I sat on the window seat and just took in all of the joy of teenagers. 

They joked about school and things that had happened with friends. They tossed popcorn into the air and tried to catch it in their mouths. They played with our pets. They talked about the houses they would try next, "the really big ones, with the elderly people who need help anyway." They'd made a small profit shoveling, but it was more about the fun and freedom of being out on a Sunday with a friend and a blank sheet of snow. One or two homeowners had been rude to them, so they shoveled their driveways "out of spite." Mercy, if that is the face of spite, I wish the whole world were comprised of "spiteful" teenagers! When they finished their drinks, they took their mugs to the sink and washed them. They called me Mrs. Barcalow, and thanked me for my hospitality. And then they (and Thomas) set out in search of more walks to clear. 

There is nothing in the world that I enjoy more right now than a house full of my kids' friends--teenagers-- just being the wonderful people that they are. I know this age group has an iffy reputation, sometimes with good reason. But there's something so joyful, so hopeful, about good teenagers. And, wow, is the world full of good ones.