Welcome to our modest but comfortable establishment, that offers overnight accommodation and hot delicious breakfast. You may envision a modern house by the lake, but our B&B is a red-brick, middle class building located in a lovely suburban area. Your bedroom is located on the second floor, overlooking a greenish-brownish yard. It also features a queen-size bed, a large oak desk equipped with a computer, and top-of-the-line speakers. This space is perfect for the musician at heart, showcasing a variety of guitars and access to studio-quality headphones. A very soft gray accents the walls, creating the perfect atmosphere of comfort and relaxation. In the morning, please consider the following breakfast choices: hot Belgian waffles from the box with organic maple syrup topped with plump blackberries (per request), store-bought blueberry muffins, or scrambled eggs with toast and orange juice (also from the box). In a hurry? No problem. Please grab a healthy organic power bar on your way out. We are trying to do our very best, and we do hope your stay here will be satisfactory during your teenage years!!!!!!
Yep! This is what I feel like advertising to my teenage child! I am losing my mind and I am having a difficult time seeing my firstborn doing his own thing, exercising that independence away from us . . . And soon he will start to drive as well. For now, he has friends that do. He is either at school, or studying at the library, being tutored, going to soccer (which I drive him to thankfully), or going to work out. On the weekends he does his chores for half the day, then sleeps over most times at his friend’s house. Yes, we do stuff as a family; yes, we eat together whenever possible; yes, he is a good guy, but it feels to me that we mainly spend time with him at breakfast and dinner and then he goes to sleep.
I guess I was the same at fifteen years of age. I longed to be with my friends and out in the world feeling free and independent. It is the season that prepares him to launch on his own eventually . . . Don’t like it one bit. Having a hard time with it. My husband, on the other hand, jokes about it by introducing the notion of Hackett B&B and bothers our son with it: “Welcome back, sir. We didn’t expect you till this evening. However, there are fresh sheets on your bed and your usual for breakfast?” The son is a good sport and graces his dad’s comment with half a smirk.
The thing is, I miss my son already and he still lives here at our house. God did say that there are seasons in life for everything: “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and I get that and I am thankful that God has advice and guidance for everything in this earthly life, but it is still hard at times.
So, what can us as his parents do but joke about it so it lightens the reality a little bit? Dear son, the Hackett B&B will always be open to you and to all the generations to come, and we hope you will remember it with fondness and laughter.(But I draw the line at mints on your pillow!)
Roxana Hackett is a regular contributor to Christian Woman. Her new book ‘When Are Your Parents Coming To Get You’ published by Ark House is now available.
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