It has been a long standing joke of mine that I would rather parent 100 more boys than one more girl. Truth is I think I'd rather not parent any more kids, but I certainly could not imagine doing "teenager girl" again. Even the best and brightest teenage girls, who have lived with excellent birthparents for years, have very interesting times during their teenage years. Striving for independence, attempting to fit in with their peers, dealing with the pressure of testosterone driven boys, impulsivity, unwillingness to understand guidelines and live within them, etc. etc. etc.
Last night Sadie pushed all my buttons again and again and again until i finally decided to avoid her. She had laundry in the washer, so I decided to just change the laundry for her instead of asking her to move the stuff. She came down 30 minutes later (an hour after the washer and dryer were done) and yelled at me because she had another load to put in and accused me of deliberately changing her laundry to make her mad. Since I had genuinely been attempting not to make her mad, her accusations were frustrating to say the least. But the hard part is that she will not let it go. She pushes and pushes and pushes until I'm at my wit's end.
Last night Salinda broke rules again.... minor ones, i guess, but enough that I would have been somewhat justified in talking to her P.O. However, this morning I woke her up and made her come talk to me. I told her that I was going to simply document the behaviors and at some point turn them in if things didn't turn around. The conversation went reasonably well until the end when I was waiting for an apology. Her words were I'm sorry but I wish I would have had a video camera to document tone of voice and facial expression. ;-)
The amount of emotional energy it takes to navigate the intense drama of the teenage girls years is more than I have some days. I find the whole experience quite draining. I woke again at 4:20 after a brief altercation with Salinda at 12:15, so I am not well rested. But I did manage to make it to the YMCA to work out and weigh in this morning.
1 comment:
I am in the midst of teenage girl drama myself. My thirteen year old has decided she will never use a nice voice again. Everything pops out of her mouth at a low yell or whine. Was I like that as a teenager? My poor mother.
Apparently all the mothers of the world have joined a conspiracy to ruin the lives of all teenage girls via laundry, dinnertime, and clothing choices. We are so evil aren't we? ;)
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