Teenagers are a blessing...

Welllllll... it's happened.  I'm officially the mother of a teenager.  (Ew.  NOT "mother".. I really dislike that word, it makes me feel old.)  Let's start over.  I'm officially the mom of a teenager.  (Much better.)   I keep trying to figure out how this has occurred and I can't quite sum it up...I'm obviously not old enough.  haha..oh, I guess I am.  But we'll just keep that between you and I.
I guess it started to happen a few years ago when we had Tyler's 12th birthday party at the local pizza place.  He invited all his friends to join him for a little food and video games for the afternoon.  I order the pizza and drinks and before 15 minutes have passed, Tyler is telling me that I need to order some food for them to eat.  "I did!!" I say, and start to go up to the counter to find out what the hold up is.  He says "no mom, I already ate that..."..  Surely, there must be some mistake.  I'm astonished as I've ordered 2 large pizzas and 2 pitchers of pop.  But as I look down at what used to be a large cheese pizza on a pan, I'm faced with reality.  He ate the whole thing... I'm lost as to how this has happened.  In my mind he's only 5 years old.  Well, wait, no he's 8-- oh dear that was 4 years ago... he's 12.     What?  Where have I been?  Oh, now I remember...  
For those of you who don't know, you will find out one day - so I might as well tell you now.  When your child turns 12 (sometimes earlier) they are replaced by a clone from outer space.  I am unsure how this actually takes place, but it must be while you are sleeping, because one night you will tuck into bed, that precious gift from God, and the next morning they will awake with a vengeance.  You'll find yourself speechless as you say (as you always have) "Good Morning, buddy!" and you are slapped in the face with "you're ruining my life!!"  You'll shrug it off at first as a fluke of sorts until- as the days and weeks go by, you realize they are morphing into someone else.  Before long, they are 12 and completely immersed in Jr High and your biggest hurdle then is to find just one phrase in the English language that does not utterly embarrass them... (who knew "Have a good day!" was such a death sentence.)  The easy job of shopping for clothes turns into a horrifying ordeal as you tip-toe the racks afraid to suggest even one item of clothing. It's pointless really, as apparently, adults are incapable of style and we have "no idea how ugly" everything we pick out is.  Also, they know everything.  Not just some things, absolutely everything.  You'll see this as whenever you open your mouth, before you can even finish the sentence they will cut you off with "I KNOW."  This goes for reminders - "Don't forget to turn in your homework." "I KNOW."   Maybe a simple statement "Hey, your favorite show is on tonight!" "I KNOW".  You will eventually concede that this fortress of knowledge cannot be broken and you regress to -"Hey just want you to know I love you"... can you guess the answer?  Yep, they know.  This is also goes hand in hand with the fact that they are NEVER wrong.  NEVER.  And if they are, well of course, it's probably your fault.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  They return around age 14 (again, probably while you are sleeping), and the hurricane that was your child emerges from the clouds.  The sun actually shines a little while an angelic "Hallelujah" chorus is quietly versing through your mind.  You get a glimpse of who they might be as an adult in little things that they do and you're able to take a deep breath for the first time in 3 years.  You made it!!  It's not completely incident free.  There is still the random "you're ruining my life" and "leave me alone" but much fewer and far between.   Mostly, I just watch as he goes through all the experiences of high school, each milestone marking the way, a silent reminder of how fast time goes by.  Freshman year...milestone...performing at the games with pep band (and they are really good!!)... milestone.  Now, he's going to Homecoming this weekend... with a date...another milestone.
I find myself lost in my thoughts a lot, thinking about Ty and how we got from that sweet little boy who sang along to Sesame Street, who used to chase bubbles outside- the same one who melted my heart with one little grin, and required "hugs please" and I would bury my chin on top of his white-blond hair...Who is this boy and how did he end up taller than me... am I actually looking up at him?  I suppose he is still there.  He still sings along, only to different songs now.. and he still melts my heart with his smile.  Now I am the one who requires "hugs please", and he rests his chin on top of my head!
My daughter turned 11 this year... dun, dun, dun...  I suppose the clones will arrive sometime in the near future...
In the meantime, I will continue to remind myself of how truly blessed I am.
Until then~


Love
T♥