Sunday, February 26, 2012

Back to the Drawing Board, I Guess. . .

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. . .

12 comments:

  1. Well, that is one hilarious statement from your kid! Did you laugh or were you too angry?

    I'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.'

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  2. Most of them out grow this...

    ...the rest don't survive.

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  3. Yeah, I've heard that one several times from our 2 brats. The last time was just after the spouter became an adult.

    I 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.

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  4. 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.

    It all makes perfect sense... NOW.

    However, then? Not so much.

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  5. I had to laugh at this, it's sooo true- it's all about them.

    By the way, you really should work on getting to know Jen better, don't you think??

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  6. Bijoux - Closer to a laugh; it was more like an incredulous 'did you really say that?'

    And 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. . .

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  7. 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).
    I 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.

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  8. Schweeney - The sad thing is, that joke was probably already old when I first heard it back in my college days. . . ;)

    When 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. . .

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  9. i have often said the teen years are just a revisitation of the terrible twos only hopped up on hormones.

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  10. Lime - And with bigger, stronger bodies, with which they can get into some really life-altering trouble. . .

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  11. I 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!

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  12. faDKoG - It's an epidemic! We're all doomed!

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