"Really, Mom?"
"I need $50 to pay for a field trip by tomorrow, By the Way"
"You have no idea what I go through everyday"
These are just a few things that I hear on a daily basis. You see, I am a mom of 5 children. This statement used to bring a look of wonder and sympathy, especially when those that I encountered saw the cute little faces of my children. Now, when I make the statement and follow by the ages of my children the looks that follow can now be described as horror. The look is inevitably followed by comments, like you must be very busy or I can't wait until my children are that age. To that I say...Yes I am very busy and Yes you can wait.
.
Being a mother of teenagers and young adults is a lonely existence. There aren't mother's groups for parents dealing with children who think they know all the answers and have the words to explain why they have all the answers. There aren't playgroups where we get our cell phone toting children together while we mother's trade war stories of how we were able to get home from work, make dinner, and transport 3 children to 3 different after school activities. Mother's of teenagers and young adults are looked at with admiration from mother's of young children as they envision the time when their children happily ignore them and looked at with laughter by mothers who have graduated to the next stage...Adult children.
Don't get me wrong, it isn't all bad. There are times, more often than not, that laughter rings in the air and stories of my childhood are exchanged with jokes and lessons. My children have given me moments that brought me to tears of joy and moments that make me pat myself on the back for a job well done as a parent. I finally have the time to reconnect with my husband without trying to find a babysitter. I actually have help doing chores around the house, occasionally and when a girlfriend is busy for a lunch date or shopping trip a teenage daughter will fill the slot with no hesitation. (I mean does anyone know a teenager that will turn down the opportunity for free food or clothes).
I wanted to start this blog to connect with mothers of teenagers and young adults, so that it doesn't seem that we are navigating these waters alone. It is also a way to keep track of the experiences that I have with these beautiful creations that have blessed my life. Because no matter how busy, frustrating, joyful life with teenagers and young adults is, it will not last forever. Soon, they will all be moving on to start their lives on their own and then it will be on to the next stage empty nesting with my husband. I guess that will be another blog.
Happy Parenting!
