Am I forgetting what it is like to be 14????

Today my daughter did not go to school. A common occurrence right now. I know as she grew through the years, I thought I prepared myself for the ‘Teenage Angst Years”. But her at the age of 12 hit me like a ton of bricks. Each year since then has just snowballed into a frenetic cloud of “hopelessness”. (Her words!) Was I constantly whining about everything like this? Did I suddenly hate my mom and wish her every kind of death there is?

Probably. Most definitely.

I, too, was old enough to take care of myself at the ripe age of 14 ( or so I thought). But here I look at my daughter every day and think, she can’t even get up for school; how could she think she is old enough to live without me? I know these are hormones, but it still stings when she says she hates me and will leave and never look back when she gets a chance.

I personally think it is a little bit worse these days because they get everything they want and have no responsibilities. I ask her to put away clothes; she acts like it will kill her. Is it too much to want her to rinse off a dish? (Am I sweating the small stuff??)

And so, daughter, I am writing this as a way to blow off steam without letting you know. You are going through your own heartaches. Chores, homework, being too young for some things and too old for others. Boy troubles; looking “in” and not “out”. I will be writing my own angst at times, hoping that as you grow through this coming high school year, you will find out that you need me more than you ever thought.

Maybe one day you will have kids of your own…….