My car keys are in hand, the car is warming, the clock is moving, and I’m waiting. Just waiting! I made it clear an hour earlier that we had to leave by 7:15 am to make it to school on time. No exceptions!
But as it is, I have a front row seat to a colossal meltdown unfolding before my very eyes. As I wait, saying little to nothing, one of my pre-teen daughters frantically darts from our home office, to her bedroom, to the sunroom, and then back to the home office in a full-blown rant.
The reason? She can’t find the pair of shoes that she HAS to wear everyday! Oddly, it’s the same pair she’s been told countless times (no, hundreds of thousands) to place in the utility room where all shoes are kept. Apparently, I missed the part of that plan considered rocket science, but that’s just my error I suppose!
I’ve learned a lot from the brief time I’ve been a parent of not 1, but 2 pre-teen girls. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great times and amazing moments with them. But other times, like the aforementioned moment, can be frustrating and hard. If you have pre-teens or teens, you know exactly what I’m talking about!
Here are 5 (not so serious) life lessons I’ve learned from my pre-teen daughters:
Lesson 1- “Nothing is ever my fault!”
It doesn’t matter that I was told exactly what to do and I did the opposite- it’s not my fault! Even though I nodded when you clearly explained the guidelines; even though we’ve been over the same thing 47 million times; even though I had plenty of time to get myself ready for school….it’s….not….my….fault that we’re late!
Lesson 2- “Everyone is out to get me!”
My 3-year old brother: out to get me! My teacher: out to get me! My parents: out to get me! The bus driver: out to get me! The clerk at Claires: yep, out to get me too! The mail lady: well, she didn’t bring me anything in the mail today, and the whole works revolves around me including the US Postal service. The only thing she delivered was the electric bill so we could have heat in our house, so she’s definitely out to get me!
Lesson 3- “The sky is, in fact, falling on my head!”
Everything is a crisis and I need to live everyday in a state of panic. Seriously (waving my index finger) you don’t understand. The world as we know it will end if my favorite jeans are in the laundry (graciously washed by my amazing mother who does all of my laundry willingly) and I can’t wear them. What am I going to do? It’s over… I’m melting….I’m melting….what a world…. what a world….the inhumanity of it all!
Lesson 4- “Mom and dad have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about!”
Forget the fact that they’ve lived a combined 70 years of life and I’ve only amassed 11, they’re idiots. I can’t believe they have the audacity to tell me to wear deodorant and brush my teeth every day! Who do they think they are? Who makes them the expert?
Lesson 5- “Life is soooo not fair!”
Everyone else has an iPod touch. Everyone else gets to stay up as late as they want. Everyone else gets to watch whatever they want to watch, whenever they want to watch it. It’s not fair that you won’t let me! And on that note- it’s not fair that you allow my brothers and sisters to breath oxygen, eat food, see the light of day, and live out the constitution of the United States of America! Life is sooooo not fair!
Question- Do you have a pre-teen, or teen, living in your house? Can you identify with any of this? Join the conversation.
