My father-in-law, patient beyond measure, would calmly say, “God gave you years to learn how to take care of your baby. You didn’t give birth to a teenager so don’t worry about raising a teenager until you have one.”
Well, dear father-in-law, you know how you said in all that time I had before having a teenager I’d figure out how to handle one? Hey, Chuck, guess what? I have one now and I feel as clueless today as I did when I brought that precious new baby home from the hospital.
So what now?
I married a man with 2 kids, 12 and 13 at the time. Oy. That plus all the family issues such a situation brings.
ReplyDeleteWe felt our way in the dark but we found they need a lot of space, within the obvious reasonable behavior expectations. It's such a disquieting, change-filled, hard time for them. There's a song from the musical Camelot : "How to Handle a Woman," which says "Simply love her." It works on teenagers too! JMO and all that! 8~)
I agree Christy. I have had such an emotionally draining week with preteen issues that I understand now how having teens can be more tiring than toddlers. With two preteens and a preschooler now, I should be ready for a month on a deserted island any day now. ;)
ReplyDeleteTraci Hall
Traci - don't go to that island without me!
ReplyDeleteNostalgic - the giving of space is good advice. So is the "simply love her" part. There are times I'm good at it; today, not so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder.
Sounds like we need a support group! The rolling eyes, mumbled comments and constant reminders about how overprotective I am are beginning to wearing me down.
ReplyDeleteAmy K. - I totally understand. *sigh*
ReplyDelete