Teen Days Are Here

I have sat with the blank screen in front of me for several minutes. I am not sure how to write about a topic in which I likely have nothing new to add: living with a teenager. Mothering teens is the same and different for all of us. It is a journey of giant highs and crushing lows and everything in between.

Of all my difficult journeys, this one may be the toughest thus far.

• I need more patience which is laughable. Patience is something I have never had much of and it seems to lessen as I age. 
• I like control - very much. Not sure whether to laugh or cry on this one because the battle for control is ON but the winning move is when I no longer need to be in control. This sentence may need to be read a few times to process.
• I like to think about problems and solutions in a linear fashion. Laugh Out Loud! Teenager and linear thinking do not belong in the same sentence.
• I am incredibly self-aware. However, that does not prevent me from making mistakes. It feels like an out of body experience. I see exactly what is happening and am often helpless to stop the motion.

This week has brought tremendous pride, mounting frustration, too many tears, genuine smiles, long-awaited break throughs, disappointing set backs, unwanted confusion, moments of clarity - notice a pattern of infinite fluctuations?

So today I am comforted by this quote:

"The women whom I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong, and they handled it. They handled it in a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes."
- Elizabeth Gilbert 

Happy Teen Moment: Oldest Son turns 15 years old with our traditional breakfast in bed. Yes there is that awful syrup in which the males in my family keep bringing into the house! There is organic in the cabinet - I swear!