Oh man, oh man, oh man...I'm feelin' like a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" mom. Please bear with me, I've just gotta get this out. My teenager, aka my "guinea pig", is really testing my patience. Really. This boy has got me totally on edge!
Because I have never done the teenage years before, (I mean, you know, as a parent) it's hard for me to know when this "phase" is gonna be over (and I'm praying it is just a phase)...and I'm hopin' it's darn soon! He is a pretty dang good kid, what gets me is his tone of voice, and when I correct him, I get "what did I say". I find myself repeating over and over again, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it". And what I'm even more upset with, is that I find myself following suit. By gum, I'm regressing back to my teenage years! And, gee, what a fabulous example that is! Arrrggggghhhhh, help me!
We have always found that after Big A. gets back from his weekend with his dad, he's lippy to beat heck...usually it straightens out quickly with boundaries, but this time...it's not getting better! And to make it worse, I feel annoyed by him. That is an awful feeling, I feel horribly guilty. He has always been an argumentative kid, he'd "argue with a stop sign" (in his own words!)...we say he'll make a great lawyer someday. But, he doesn't know when to not argue. Seems like everything is a battle..."Big A., it'll take us about two hours to get there."
"No it won't, it says it takes 1 hour and 45 minutes."
"Big A., I've got crusty boogers."
"No you don't, they're runny."
It just goes on and on.
I'm praying, and I try not to pray for someone else to change, I always try to pray for change within myself...you know, understanding, patience, knowledge. I want to enjoy our time together, I don't want to be always snippy and anticipating a challenge.
Please, Lord, grant me the patience, grace, understanding and knowledge to be a good parent. Please help me lead by example and not follow suit with bad behavior. Please, Lord, walk along beside me as I parent through these treacherous times and guide me in my parenting. Amen.
Because I have never done the teenage years before, (I mean, you know, as a parent) it's hard for me to know when this "phase" is gonna be over (and I'm praying it is just a phase)...and I'm hopin' it's darn soon! He is a pretty dang good kid, what gets me is his tone of voice, and when I correct him, I get "what did I say". I find myself repeating over and over again, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it". And what I'm even more upset with, is that I find myself following suit. By gum, I'm regressing back to my teenage years! And, gee, what a fabulous example that is! Arrrggggghhhhh, help me!
We have always found that after Big A. gets back from his weekend with his dad, he's lippy to beat heck...usually it straightens out quickly with boundaries, but this time...it's not getting better! And to make it worse, I feel annoyed by him. That is an awful feeling, I feel horribly guilty. He has always been an argumentative kid, he'd "argue with a stop sign" (in his own words!)...we say he'll make a great lawyer someday. But, he doesn't know when to not argue. Seems like everything is a battle..."Big A., it'll take us about two hours to get there."
"No it won't, it says it takes 1 hour and 45 minutes."
"Big A., I've got crusty boogers."
"No you don't, they're runny."
It just goes on and on.
I'm praying, and I try not to pray for someone else to change, I always try to pray for change within myself...you know, understanding, patience, knowledge. I want to enjoy our time together, I don't want to be always snippy and anticipating a challenge.
Please, Lord, grant me the patience, grace, understanding and knowledge to be a good parent. Please help me lead by example and not follow suit with bad behavior. Please, Lord, walk along beside me as I parent through these treacherous times and guide me in my parenting. Amen.
With three teenagers, I can SO relate! Will be praying for you and your son both. Thanks for being so transparent. I love your blog. :-)
ReplyDelete~Brenda
Oh, my, I feel right at home here. I have a brand spankin' new teenage son myself. New in the sense that he just turned 13 in March. I have a serious problem holding my tongue because of my own attitude. It is so hard to deal with this because he is such a good kid. I've always been so proud of him and his manners. He still has them, but now he has a voice and more of an opinion. Not liking this phase at all. The thing is I have 4 more children and every 2 years they will become teenagers from this point. Yikes!! I'm scared but I know that the Lord will help me through it. I think you made a key statement in wanting to change yourself. That is certainly where I need to start.
ReplyDeleteIt was great stopping by here. I'll be back. :-) Blessings to you.