Mothering the fifteen year old is not the simplest exercise I’m facing. Chaser is determined to be independent, grown, and in charge of himself. At fifteen between school, friends, football, and time on studies, there isn’t alot of Mom time left. This new found independence would work really well if it was focused on independence in doing his chores like taking out the trash without being told, but chores are not exactly the areas he’s focusing his independence on. It can easily be a time of parent-teen turmoil some days, we only have before and after school. Workouts, friends, and a teenage schedule often leaves mom feeling under valued and taken for granted (can I hear an amen for the zillionth load of laundry, most often snatched from the bathroom floor where it lay) I have this notion, that at fifteen I still need to know who, what, when, and why he’s going places, and a reasonably good ideas of what’s to be done at home. I am determined to know my children, KNOW them and I’d prefer to like what I know, so some days I simply have to make a plan of my own for quality time with Chaser. Today was such a day. Les had left for work early, so I went into Chase’s room at 5:45 a.m. and picked up his cell phone, nothing wakes a sleeping teen faster than their beloved cell phone moving in the night. Within seconds he was in my office asking “what’s up mom, why do you have my cell?”
And the plot began. I plugged it in to charge, since the charger was borrowed by me last night and I knew it would be dead if I didn’t get it charged, probably just the time Chaser would have called me to tell me he was going somewhere with a friend after school while I waited in line to pick him up. Step two, after taking Dixie Mae outside for a break (thanks mom, you woke her up) I invited Chaser amd Dixie to come back to my room and hang out together until 7 and then we went to breakfast at Burger King by ourselves. We talked, played, and discussed his life and what is going on for all of us. Mission complete, we had over an hour of shared time, conversations on how he’d do parenthood differently,, and he felt attended and treated since the time included food.
Sometimes I have to take off the parental unit badge….and simply enjoy my son….and every now and then….he simply lets me.
And the plot began. I plugged it in to charge, since the charger was borrowed by me last night and I knew it would be dead if I didn’t get it charged, probably just the time Chaser would have called me to tell me he was going somewhere with a friend after school while I waited in line to pick him up. Step two, after taking Dixie Mae outside for a break (thanks mom, you woke her up) I invited Chaser amd Dixie to come back to my room and hang out together until 7 and then we went to breakfast at Burger King by ourselves. We talked, played, and discussed his life and what is going on for all of us. Mission complete, we had over an hour of shared time, conversations on how he’d do parenthood differently,, and he felt attended and treated since the time included food.
Sometimes I have to take off the parental unit badge….and simply enjoy my son….and every now and then….he simply lets me.
God is good!
