My oldest son becomes an "adult" tomorrow.
At least chronologically.
18 years
6,570 days
157,680 hours
9,460,800 minutes
567,648,000 seconds
We threw a party at my house to celebrate.
Friends and family from both sides were there to welcome him to adulthood.
With more than 40 people planning to attend, there was a lot of food to prepare and keep warm.
Crockpots and Nesco's lined my kitchen island. And they required more outlets than I had available.
I found a surge protector in the back of my closet. Eight outlets - perfect!
It worked great for the first hour or so - until we blew a fuse. There was just too much power trying to go through one circuit.
We ended up having to rearrange and move some things to another outlet. Sometimes when there's just too much all you can do is adjust, right?
The purpose of a surge protector is to protect our expensive devices from a power surge. To keep the current from frying them or wiping out important data.
That wasn't what I was using this one for this weekend, but it made me reflect.
As my son finishes his last year of high school, as he plans for his college adventure and taking on the responsibilities of adulting, he's going to need a surge protector too.
His won't look like the one in this picture, though. No outlets with on/off switches, no power cord attached.
His will look more like the friends who surrounded him yesterday.
The friends who make him laugh, who cheer him on, who build him up when he's having a rough day. And who call him on it when he's not being his best self.
His surge protector will look like the teacher who showed up to celebrate with him.
The one who taught him how to have a growth mindset, who gave him the opportunity to go on a service trip to the Dominican Republic at the age of 13 that expanded his mind and taught him about new cultures.
It will also look like his family.
The grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who've been on this journey with him since he was so very small.
And his parents.
His mother, father and stepmother, who've supported him every step of the way. Who've spent many a late night worrying about him, and shed more than a few tears of pride as we've celebrated his accomplishments.
I'll be honest and say that I worry about the future that this boy (correction - man) is venturing into.
I worry what the world will look like in 20 years. What his journey will be like.
But I know he's strong. He's smart and he's capable.
He's going to learn so much as he goes out into the world in a much bigger way.
And as long as he keeps his surge protector plugged in, keeps spending time with his amazing group of friends, and remembers that he always has family to lean on...
He'll be able to handle any power surges life throws at him.
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