Ode to My Teenager

This is the most difficult time in your life, and I understand that. Believe it or not I was once in your shoes. I know you stand there and look at me as some old lady, but honestly I remember more about my adolescent years than I probably care to remember.

My ode to you:

     1)      You will drive me crazy daily;

     2)      You will probably send me to bed crying most nights;

     3)      You will try to play your dad and I against one another:

     4)      You will pick on your siblings ruthlessly and endlessly;

     5)      You will look at me like I am the dumbest person in the world:

     6)      At some point we both may want to kill each other, or just not speak;

     7)      I will drive you crazy daily;

     8)      Your version of getting up off the couch is to fill your cereal bowl again, while my version is to put that cereal bowl into the kitchen sink;

     9)      You may wish you lived in another house;

    10)   And you think all I do is yell.

And to that I say, you are correct. You are correct to all of it, as am I. We will butt heads, we will disagree, you will find me to be the biggest nag in the world, with the loudest vocal chords.

But I do it because I love you more than anything in this world. There is nothing that can compare to a mother’s love. Dad’s come close, but unfortunately they were not blessed with the opportunity to carry you inside them for nine months. And with that there was an everlasting bound built between us. One you may never understand until you hold your own baby.

But let it be known that I will love you until the day you die, I will continue to nag you to make you a smarter, stronger, and better person; and I will continue to ride you because I know you can and will make a difference in this world.

And no matter what you think, no matter what you do or say to me, or how hateful or angry you get with me, I will always love you. I will always be there for you.

This is in honor of all three of my boys, because I know at some point we will all hit rough patches together, but no matter what… I will love you with all my heart and soul until the day I die, and then some.

And to all you parents out there with teens or upcoming teens, just remind them you are there for them no matter how big the bumps get.