Squawk Radio
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
The "Joys" of Living with a Teenager
I have a fifteen-year-old son. How he got to be this age, I have no idea, because I’d swear that only yesterday he was crawling around in diapers. And speaking of diapers, I was barely out of mine when I gave birth to this child. Yes, I was only, um, yeah, like SIX. Yeah, that’s the ticket. One of those medical miracles. You can read all about it in the New England Journal of Medicine. Anyway…I find that there’s no middle ground with my teenager. He’s either sweet and charming or he’s a complete and utter pain in the you-know-where. No gray area. There are days when my husband and I beam with pride and other times when we just look at each other and shake our heads, wondering what mutant germ polluted the gene pool and whose side of the family it came from (his, btw). One of the things that drives me crazy is when I ask my son a question and he just looks at me. Blankly. I’ll repeat the question, then he’ll say, “Idunno.” All one word. Actually, all one syllable. And I’m not asking rocket science questions here. I’m asking something along the lines of “Do you have homework?” His life now revolves around marching band and getting together with friends, instant messaging, and text messaging, and yapping on the phone. At first we thought that aliens must have abducted our bright, sweet child and left us with this pesky, moody kid, but then we read an article that said it’s a scientific fact that the reason teenagers are the “way they are” (translation: moody pests) is because their brains haven’t developed all the way and basically, they can’t HELP being doofy and moody and pesky. And did I mention that my son is a drummer? So in addition to the all the teenage stuff, it’s really NOISY at our house! So—for all of you who have little kids, enjoy them now because you’re in for it. For all of us who have teenagers, I guess we can only gird our loins and pray and hope for the best and wait because this too shall pass. For all of you who are empty nesters, congratulations on surviving the teenage years. My son is a good kid with a kind heart, so we’re hopeful that we’ll come out on the other side all in tact. But getting there is…a challenge. And you know, these kids don’t come with instruction manuals!! So I’m wondering…does anyone have “you wouldn’t believe what my doofy kid did” stories?” Or maybe something doofy YOU did when you were a teenager? Or hey, maybe a “my kid is so fabulous” story—you know, to give those of us with teenagers some hope. How ‘bout it?
Anonymous, 8:49 AM
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