The OTHER Three Little Words...

I did it...

Again...

I caught myself saying the two words that I PROMISED -

NO!!

I VOWED to NEVER, EVER say to another Mom as long as I lived...

Can you guess what they were?

"Just Wait"


No!!
I'm not trying to make you sit on the edge of your seat before revealing those words...
Those ARE the words!

Just - Wait!

When my older kiddos were little, and I was the "young Mom" surrounded by older Moms with older kids, I used to HATE when having a conversation involving the peaks and valleys of parenting, inevitably one of them would hit me right between the eyes with "Just WAIT!!!"

It was as if they wanted to one up me...

They were the same girls that after hearing about your labor and delivery taking 27 hours and requiring forceps and 3 pints of plasma, would say something like "MY labor lasted 27 DAYS and a staff of 14 doctors and nurses as well as 3 QUARTS of blood!!!"




Need I say.... ANNOYING!!!

Many years of parenting have passed...
(28 plus to be exact... which incidentally is 10,249 days!)

Birth stories have been replaced by Menopause stories
(and believe me - they are equally as IRRITATING!)

Now I am the "older Mom"

A friend contacted me and was venting about one of the lows of her parenting experiences of late.
She also mentioned that she was glad her 4th grade daughter still thought that she was awesome...

Call me aggravating...

Call me unpleasant...

Call me a weary Mom STILL dealing with teenagers after 5,501 days (which is how many days ago my first son turned 13... keep in mind that I have five children)

Call me what you like...

Just don't call me to vent and count on my not blurting out that two word phrase that has become a common one in my vocabulary repertoire...

Why, you ask has this happened to me?

I've asked myself that very same question each and every time I've uttered those words, and I believe I have the answer...

It comes down to another short three word expression...



Misery Loves Company!

Sugar and Spice...

Having raised four boys, I have always felt like I had a handle on parenting…

If not a handle, maybe at the very least, a fire extinguisher to put out the fires of teenagerdom (not an actual word, but I’ve added it to my list of “should be’s” that I plan to send in to Webster’s very soon)

I must reiterate, however, the lack of clarity that I feel in the murky, unchartered waters that I am treading through in the deep end these days, due to the fact that I am dealing with a fifteen-year-old daughter…

My friend Karen has three daughters…
Whenever I mention new worries that come with having to deal with estrogen, other than my own (and mine could be dwindling as we speak, as I am reminded constantly by my headaches and strong urges to turn the thermostat below the 79 degree threshold that Tony tries to enforce (see here to fully understand)… I’m a rebel however, and it’s blowing like crazy at this very moment, because I’ve turned it to 78 again!) She waves her hand at me dismissively, as if to say "My Poor Little Grasshopper, When you can take the pebble from my hand, then you'll know"
Usually followed up with cryptic advice, delivered with a sly smile “Just Wait”

For what?! I ask… no, I demand to know!

Then she breaks down into maniacal laughter and walks away…
(Not really, but I seriously think that she wants to, because misery usually loves company)

My daughter is lovely…

Truly…

But as I’ve mentioned before, Girls are complicated creatures and quite frankly, I feel that I am in over my head for several reasons…

1) BOYS – okay… I adore my boys, but I also understand that their ploy to be any girls’ friend when they were teenagers meant one thing…. They LIKED them and wanted to KNOW them… and by “know them” I mean suck-face with. This knowledge has completely ruined my daughters’ chances for being allowed to hang out one on one with any of her guy friends…
NOT HAPPENING!
PERIOD!

2) Girls are waaayyyy more social, therefore I am constantly being bombarded with new names, faces and plans… It’s not unusual for the discussions to begin on Monday about what she wants to do on Friday, Saturday and Sunday….
It’s exhausting! Many times I put a crimp in the plan (because I am trying my very hardest to ruin her life and so it must be done to accomplish said task)

3) Three words:

• Premenstrual
• Menstrual
• Postmenstrual

It’s like a hormonal firestorm for at least 27 ½ days on any given month!



Having said all that…

I must also mention that I absolutely adore her and she is a joy (at this point, for at least 3 ½ days every month)

NOT really! She is a joy every single day and I am grateful that she’s mine!

At this stage of the game, most days, I can’t confidently say that I’m sure she feels the same about me…

But that’s okay…

Because according to my girl expert, Karen,

That means that I must be doing something right!