We have just finished watching the Showdowns on the Australian 'The Voice.' The last singer was an eighteen year old boy, Harrison, who actually is a local boy who went to the local high school here last year. He, his brother and his mother are super close (a little bit like my boys and I). The little brother is so proud of his older brother, and is overwhelmed with tears of pride each time he performs. He's so overwhelmed, because Harrison has had to overcome a stutter all his life. He'd been picked on, lost all his self-esteem and somehow, now he's finished high school, drummed up the courage to audition and perform on 'The Voice.' He has performed three times now - his audition, the battles and now the showdowns, giving the public now a chance to vote him in or out. But Joel Madden, lead singer of Good Charlotte said to him that he's 'older than his years.' He has the maturity of someone so much older than eighteen - he has dignity, he has class, he has presence and he has vulnerabilities.
When asked in the snippets before tonight's performance who he was singing the song for, he said 'it was for all the people who mean so much to him and he misses when he's away from them.' Seal asked him if he was singing it for his Dad? and Harrison said 'no... you can't miss someone who has never been there for you.' I could see my oldest son identifying with him.
You could see that Harrison had played the 'father' role in his little family of three, hence the reason why his little brother looked up to him so much. And I feel that with my sons. My youngest son loves his big brother, loves that he's there to look after him at school or at home. Even though they both like their personal space, they value each other as amazing buddies, team mates and my little helpers. I can see my oldest son is the more responsible one - if I ask for something to be done, he will do it, no questions asked, whereas my youngest son takes a little more persuading, but then sometimes sees his brother getting in the action and wants to be apart of it too.
I told my oldest son that it's actually a good thing being older than your years, because he will be respected more, he'll have a better chance in job interviews because he'll have that higher level of maturity, he has a better understanding of responsibility, but he still gets to be a kid - learning through playing, hanging out with friends and letting go of all the responsibilities he has at home and school because he is still only eleven years old. So many people recognise how amazing my oldest son is and what he's silently accomplished on his own, and somehow, he has an incredible sense of humour, laughing at what would break most kids his age. It's so good that he can see the funny side of things and make a positive out of something that he may initially see, or others would perceive, as a negative.
Sometime in his lifetime, his maturity level will be his age and he won't be 'older than his years.' I hope that mid-life crisis happens when he's 40, when he reverts to his youth with all the boy's toys he needs to have, because (even though he hasn't) he feels like he missed out on having a childhood.
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