Teen years

Next Thursday our baby, our youngest turns 12. In her mind she is already 21. To make matters worse she's gifted. Add the almost 16 year old brain child and you have a mess. Now do not get me wrong. I mean it. I know that I have great children. In fact out of many of the families around here, we are one of the very few families that do not have "issues" with their kids. I am in no way making fun of those families and try to remember to pray for them daily and often. I know how hard it is with mine, let alone dealing with outside issues and traumas. This is stressful enough, that must be murder. I cannot even imagine the heartache.

Anyway, it never ceases to amaze me how your children can think that you don't know anything. I AM 44 YEARS OLD FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!!!! With just a sigh they can let me know that whatever I am saying or asking them to do is stupid. With that same sigh they can get my dander up faster than anything. I instantly go into the "red haze" area. It is my greatest weakness with my children. They act like I'm stupid and I instantly want to prove that I'm not and get offended. Makes you want to reach out and touch someone!

If I really put it into perspective though... by their standards I am stupid.

I do not know how to text anyone and don't know that I want to understand that foreign language.
I do not know how jeans are supposed to look now days, I didn't like the clothes in the 70's the first time around.
I do not understand how hair hanging in your eyes is "cool", it would drive me loony.
I have never been one to watch cartoons, let alone be one to sit and watch them on the computer.
I would rather be outside working in my garden than watching the news (they are like their father and like watching the news AND cartoons).

I'm not really very good at dealing with emotional trauma and the turmoil of being 16. I wasn't very good at it then. I am a very blunt person and have a hard time being politically correct. I don't beat around the bush very well, never have. Thank God he sent me friends that were the same way because I probably would have alienated every person in school.

I don't tend to discuss things to death (although there are exceptions). I try to deal with it and then just close that chapter of the book. I have to just "turn the page" because otherwise I find myself bringing the bad stuff back again. For me it really is turning the page and just going on. I cannot always do it right away, but I really try because I know that it's in my makeup to just write someone off for something they've done and as a Christian that's not how it's supposed to be, so that's a hard one for me, but I try.

To them I'm sure that they think cleaning your room and doing chores is stupid. You will never need to know how to do these things. They won't come in handy when they get their own place.

Cleaning off the table and cleaning up your dirty dishes are a waste of time. Jake plans on eating on paper plates (until he gets married)...he told me so.

Taking out the trash is nonsense......don't know what's going to happen to the paper plates.

Cleaning the bathroom is really disgusting and they don't realize why they should have to clean up messes that THEY DIDN'T MAKE!! I just ask them if they ever plan to have children. And by the way, why is it ok if I clean up messes that I never made?

So I guess what it all boils down to is that it's true and I am stupid about being a teenager. I can deal with that. I guess I'm kind of looking forward to being older and "wise". I just have to keep on making them do the stupid stuff so that some day their kids can treat them like they're stupid and I can look back and say......

"I TOLD YOU SO!!!!"

Have a great day.
dea