Recently I was having a (*sarcasm alert!*) calm, rational discussion with one of my teenagers about his/her frustrations at some 'outrage' or other that Jen had perpetrated on her/his life, when the teen in question said, in an exasperated tone,
"You have no idea what it's like to live with her!"
Well, dang. . . And here I thought that, in 31+ years of marriage, I had gotten to know her, just a little. . .
A friend of mine likes to say, "Grandchildren are your reward for not killing your teenagers." I used to think that was funnier than I do now. . .
I never cease to be flabbergasted by the capacity of teens (some of them, anyway; perhaps mine, disproportionately) to recapitulate their behavior as newborns. In some ways, they act like giant balls of 'I Want', whose conceptual universe ends at their own skin. . .
Lord, have mercy. . .
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Well, that is one hilarious statement from your kid! Did you laugh or were you too angry?
ReplyDeleteI'm unusual in that the teenage stage (and it's a long one!) doesn't bother me as much as the toddler years. I just don't handle 'needy little people' as well as I do 'center of the universe almost adults.'
Most of them out grow this...
ReplyDelete...the rest don't survive.
Yeah, I've heard that one several times from our 2 brats. The last time was just after the spouter became an adult.
ReplyDeleteI kindly suggested that we could now easily fix that problem and she should let me know when she was packed. Been 3 years and counting since that last instance. Both brats were in the room at the time, perhaps they're cured .... then again
Kids, the ultimate comedy act.
I find a lot of "lines" that I heard as a teen from my Mum coming out of my mouth when I'm in full-on Lecture mode these days.
ReplyDeleteIt all makes perfect sense... NOW.
However, then? Not so much.
I had to laugh at this, it's sooo true- it's all about them.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you really should work on getting to know Jen better, don't you think??
Bijoux - Closer to a laugh; it was more like an incredulous 'did you really say that?'
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right, of course - it ain't just all bad with the teen-persons. I do appreciate when they're finally able to carry on a rational conversation (tho it's an intermittent thing. . .)
Skip - That's what worries me. . .
Xavier - Yeah, that 18th birthday is a wonderful thing, ain't it? 'Course, we've tended to have the opposite problem - 16-yo's that wanna act like 18-yo's. And that ain't a happy thing. . .
Flutter - Oh, I hear ya. It cuts both ways, tho. As much as I hear myself channeling my dad, I cringe when I hear my kids channeling stuff I used to say. That Mother's Curse ("I hope you have kids just like you!") is vicious. . .
Sailor - I'm always working on knowing Jen better. . .
My husband convinced me to have my firstborn by saying if we don't have him, how will we have grandchildren? I'm glad I had my children but if I knew then what I know now, I would have found a bottle of Bayer. (to borrow a very sad joke from Santorum's backer).
ReplyDeleteI will be perfectly happy without grandchildren. I don't like'm young. Please be able to sit at the table and have an adult conversation. Yes I'm cranky.
Schweeney - The sad thing is, that joke was probably already old when I first heard it back in my college days. . . ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to all that pooping/barfing/whining/etc unpleasantness, I try to remind myself that someone endured all those things on my behalf, once-upon-a-time. . .
i have often said the teen years are just a revisitation of the terrible twos only hopped up on hormones.
ReplyDeleteLime - And with bigger, stronger bodies, with which they can get into some really life-altering trouble. . .
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps you're mistaken for it sounds like this could have been a conversation you were having with my teenage son after the delightful weekend we spent around each other recently!
ReplyDeletefaDKoG - It's an epidemic! We're all doomed!
ReplyDelete