Do other teenage boys sneak (food, cell phones, computer)? Do they lie about trivial, ridiculous things (cleaning his bedroom, eating breakfast)? Are they sometimes angry or moody for no reason? Do other teenage boys do their homework but never turn it in? Do they forget to study for tests? Do they occasionally act as though they despise their parents?
I am perplexed. I am frustrated. I'm at my wit's end.
My sweet, precious little boy has, seemingly overnight, turned into a stranger. A tall, hairy, hormonal stranger with a weird sense of humor. A stranger who resembles me a bit in looks, but revels in his intractable defiance and impudence.
His priorities seem to be girls, food, his cell phone and fishing. He considers our ironclad rules (good grades, keep your room clean) to be mere suggestions which he can and does ignore at will. When we respond to this intransigence with restrictions, he becomes petulant and surly or completely withdrawn.
This teenage boy, whom I love dearly, has turned into a stranger who speaks a different language. I feel as though every word I speak to him goes in one ear and out the other. I am chagrined and mortified. Often, I feel like a failure as a mother.
I wonder...do other mothers feel this disconnect with their own child? Do they feel frustrated and flustered? Do they feel like failures? Do they wonder whether to laugh or cry at all the drama and teenaged angst? (Sometimes I cry and then I laugh. Other times, I laugh and then I cry. Sometimes I just open a bottle of wine.)
Click above if you'd like to know what a typical conversation with my son sounds like (although I'm very grateful that he doesn't have a piercing!)
Oy vey!
