Amongst all of the amazing experiences we have while raising our children, there is one big, nasty prank… and it lasts about five years. As our children grow, they somehow mutate into these unrecognizable creatures we call “teenagers”. It seems to happen over night and there doesn’t seem to be an explanation as to why this undesirable stage of life exists… except to add a few years of wrinkles, gray hairs and stories to tell. Don’t worry, however, I’ve been told it’s just temporary and, if we can withstand the storm, we will see our sweet children again… someday.
These creatures are completely unpredictable and sneaky… oh boy are they sneaky. Their personalities can change in the blink of an eye, so be on your toes. You may be having a completely lovely conversation one minute and, the next thing you know… you are suddenly listening to an ear-piercing sound that doesn’t even slightly resemble a coherent sentence. There’s no point in trying to reason with the screeching nonsense, because, at some point during the mutation into this creature, the ability to think logically has been completely lost. Don’t plan on trying to calm down the situation with a favorite snack or dinner, because their preferences change daily… sometimes hourly. Certainly, don’t try to make a joke to change the overall mood, because they are capable of rolling back their eyes so far that there’s a small chance their eyes might actually stay that way.
I’ve spent many evenings pondering ideas to conquer these creatures. Are there headphones that translate the high pitch squeal? Can we replace the battery in their brain to refill the currently empty common sense file? Is there a crystal ball to determine what the trend for each hour will be?
Unfortunately, I have yet to find any solution to assist us in the passing of this prank. So, as of now, all we can do is keep our sense of humor, start practicing yoga and stock up on wine.
“Cheers” to us, Moms!
