Several nights this past week, my house has been overrun by teenage boys.

I'm typically the only girl in the house (unless you count my cat), but this week we've had a few of my son's friends over and the testosterone levels have been twice as high as usual.

The boys are loud and silly, laughing one minute and arguing the next. They play video games like their lives depend on it and turn everything into a competition. And some of the things they say...is that even English they are speaking?

It amazes me how they don't seem to take offense to all the teasing going on and how quickly they can get over being mad at each other. No grudges with these boys.

I find myself rolling my eyes at their jokes and cringing at their music. And then I have to laugh. When did I get so old?

I wake up in the morning and there are random socks and soda cans and board games strewn about my living room.

And in the kitchen sink: evidence of the midnight spaghetti.

The older boys are generally really good about including my pre-teen and letting him hang with them. He gets such a kick out of it and loves to tell me stories about what they did while I was sleeping (or trying to anyway).

He told me that they were up making spaghetti at midnight.

He said it with such joy on his face, like it was the coolest thing ever. I had to smile at the little things that can make him happy.

I could picture the four boys, hovering over the stove, giving each other instructions, probably arguing over how long to cook the noodles.

And overall, they didn't make too big of a mess out of my kitchen. At least the dirty dishes ended up in the sink, and I know that they can make one meal for themselves when they eventually move out.

Score one for mom!

As adults, I feel like we sometimes get so caught up being responsible and worrying about everything we have to take care of in life that we forget to have fun.

When's the last time you made midnight spaghetti?

Or stayed up too late laughing with a good friend?

Or did something silly like taking off your shoes and jumping in a puddle after a rainstorm?

Or even just took a moment to look around you and smile at the good things in your life?

At what point when we "grow up" do we stop being so carefree, spontaneous and happy like these kids are?

Is it when we get our first real job, when we get married, when our first child is born? When the first real bills start piling in?

Most likely it's a combination of all of those things.

The weight of all of the responsibilities we have as adults puts so much pressure on our brains that the fun parts get pushed way back into the corners. At least that's my theory.

Let's take a lesson from these teenage boys.

They went to bed late last night, without a care in the world. They are still sleeping even as I write this blog (and will be for a few hours yet I would bet). They'll wake up this morning and have another day where they get to be silly and have fun and laugh at themselves and each other.

I think it's time for us adults to start following suit.

Let's try to stop worrying about the logistics of life so much.

Let's crack silly jokes, laugh at ourselves, intentionally smile more. Stop worrying so much about how we look. Spend more time with the people who make us happy and less time doing dishes or folding laundry.

And above all else, find the joy in the corners of our lives and in the simple things.

Who wants spaghetti?

#spaghetti #lifelessons #fun #grateful #perspective