Happy Holidays!

As the end of 2009 rapidly approaches, the WC2ed would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Use this holiday break to connect with your family in new and deeper ways. After all, the best things in life aren't things!



We would also encourage you to continue reading our blog in 2010 and sharing it with your friends as well. We hope to keep you up-to-date on topics relevant to teens and healthy relationships.

However, in 2010 we don't want to blog topics to just come from us, but to also have some ideas on what you want to hear about as well. So we'd like to offer you a chance to throw out some ideas in the comment section. We welcome questions, advice or just something you've heard about in the news that you'd like to know more about. We gladly welcome the interaction!

With that, take care and God bless! We will connect with you next year!

What Happens at Fifteen?

I am always amazed at the shear invincibility that teenagers believe themselves to possess. But who can blame them? They are full of life and each new experience gives them a jolt of dopamine and endorphins, flooding their brains with that unique “high” sensation.

With time and through observing the mistakes of others however, wisdom comes. Everyone one of us would want to spare teens – whether it is your own child, a relative, or a neighbor – from painful consequences and the shocking reality of their vulnerable humanity.

This morning I was reminded of a song written by a young adult as she looks back on life as a teenager. It’s a warning to teenage girls especially to be aware of the choices they make during high school.

Choices like naively thinking they will marry the boy who says he loves her. Choices like giving everything to a boy so she can feel wanted. Choices like getting caught up in the fleeting drama of high school without figuring out who you are and who you want to be.

The song is Fifteen, by Taylor Swift.

(You can read the lyrics and watch the video below.)

Fifteen

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors

It's the morning of your very first day

And you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while

Try and stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here

For the next four years in this town

Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say

"You know, I haven't seen you around before"

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen feeling like there's nothing to figure out

Well, count to ten, take it in

This is life before you know who you're gonna be

Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail

And soon enough you're best friends

Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool

We'll be outta here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car

And you're feeling like flying

And you're momma's waiting up and you're thinking he's the one

And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends

When the night ends

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

When you're fifteen and your first kiss

Makes your head spin 'round

But in your life you'll do things greater than

Dating the boy on the football team

But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted

Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday

But I realized some bigger dreams of mine

And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy

Who changed his mind and we both cried

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall

I've found time can heal most anything

And you just might find who you're supposed to be

I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

Your very first day

Take a deep breath girl

Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors

When a floor is more...

Came across this blog entry on the Rated G Romance website. Thought it was so adorable I just had to share!

When a floor is more…

It was our 26th anniversary on May 14th and we spent the better part of the day upgrading our kitchen floor. We installed the new vinyl plank flooring I bought the Mrs. as a present.

Tres romantic, n’est pas? Normally, no. Household upgrades are not romantic for most couples. However, for us it was.

Why? “Quality” time is my lovely’s number one love language. And what did we do? We spent an entire day together talking and working toward a common goal.

Let me spin the story another way to show you what I mean…

I took an unpaid leave day so that we could spend our special day together. We woke slowly, playing the “I love you because” game and snuggling. After a romantic breakfast (she made me my favorite ), we cleaned up and went out to one of her favorite stores. I bought her a little something she’d been wanting for months. The afternoon was full of music and talk of goals and rememberings. At dinner, she took me to a restaurant that I had always wanted to visit. The sun sparkling on the water of the inlet outside our window matched the sparkle in my sweeties eyes.

We finished our meal, went for a walk on the boardwalk, then returned home to more time together. The moments we shared were precious. Midnight approached and it was time for us to head to bed. “Wait,” she smiled, “we need to dance.” Music played (http://blip.fm/~6c084) as we finished our evening dancing in the kitchen.

The fact that we were testing the new floor we had spent the day installing was beside the point. ;-)

By Gregory Blake of RatedGRomance.com

No Sex Please, We're Vampires

(CNN) -- "New Moon," the latest film in "The Twilight Saga" is doing record business at the box office.

In its opening weekend the film grossed $140.7 million -- more than any other film with an autumn release in history.

The tales of teenage vampire love based on the best-selling books by Stephanie Meyer have wooed film-goers without having to resort to acres of flesh being on display.

This distinct lack of on-screen sex runs contrary to the popular trend of portraying teenagers on screen as playing fast and loose with their virginity and affections.

Love and the importance of relationships most definitely rule in "The Twilight Saga" and the formula is proving popular with audiences.

Elizabeth Morowitz, Communications Professor at the University of Missouri and author of "Bitten By Twilight" thinks that this more sensitive approach is the key to the film's success.

"A lot of people ask 'what's so appealing about the Twilight and why is it popular now?' and we think it's because of the relationships and the messages about love in Twilight. In a more conservative environment we've had this push for abstinence education, so we now have a media message that's more congruent with that. So perhaps some teens relate to it in that way," Morowitz told CNN's Katie Walmsley.

The director of "New Moon" Chris Weitz says that sexual abstinence is central to the film's appeal.

"It's not that they can't have sex, they choose not to and I think there's so much popular culture that's saying to young people: 'you'll be cool if you have sex' or 'it's important to be sexy' whereas this series really concentrates on matters of the heart and spirit and I think that's lovely," Weitz told CNN.

A dashing male lead, in the shape of Robert Pattison doesn't hurt either when you're trying to attract a female teenage audience.

But whatever the exact recipe for its undoubted success it looks like teenagers in the "Twilight" world don't like to bite off more than they can chew.