This too shall pass
Hold Tight“This too shall pass” is the advice Mike imagines handing down to a teenager: adolescent pain and upheaval are temporary, even when they feel all-consuming. In the moment he considers it, however, the saying offers perspective rather than reassurance; his instincts tell him Adam may be in serious trouble.
Meaning and Context
Mike thinks of the phrase while reflecting on his responsibility to keep Adam safe. He recalls Tia’s view that parents should escort their children safely into adulthood, a duty he accepts only in part: the years of adolescence are so charged with angst, hormones, and heightened emotion that a parent’s broader perspective cannot simply be transferred to a teenager.
The saying compresses that perspective into a few words. What feels permanent to a young person will pass, and, from an adult’s vantage, it will pass quickly. But Mike recognizes the limit of the advice: teenagers would not listen, because the inability to see beyond the present is part of youth itself.
The Saying Against Immediate Danger
The passage places this long view beside Mike’s immediate concern. He is thinking about Adam’s instant messaging with CeeJay8115, Tia’s reaction, and his own instinct that something is wrong. The principle that distress passes does not tell him whether to intervene or how to protect his son; instead, his sense of danger overwhelms the consoling wisdom of the phrase.
That contrast gives the expression its particular force here. Mike can recognize that adolescent turmoil is temporary while also fearing that Adam’s present circumstances may have consequences no parent can safely wait out. The saying remains a reflection on youth and time, not a resolution to the danger he feels.
