. . . is surely louder than mine. And while I know that during the teenage years the primary shift of orientation goes (normally) from parents to peers, I admit that sometimes (just sometimes) I hate to see that precious family time traded for friend time. Yet trading in family time is not really a rejection of family; it is, again, one of those normal, developmental stages in adolescents attaining some of their independence. According to Walt Mueller of The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, “parents remain tremendously important and significant in their teenagers’ lives.” Let’s remember that. And for all sakes, embrace that. Yes, they just might take our presence, our love, our attention for granted, but isn’t that the least we can grant them as they muddle through the challenging paths of adolescence?