I’m a weary, worn-out mama.
I thought {mistakenly} that raising teens/young adults would be easier than littles.
I remember how excited I was when my youngest was finally potty trained and we said goodbye to diapers. And, when they could tie their own shoes and wash their own hair? I thought it couldn’t get any better than that!
These days I am completely relating to a saying I once heard “little kids are physically exhausting to raise while teens are mentally exhausting”. I would add teens are spiritually and emotionally exhausting as well.
Don’t get me wrong…I am not knocking the moms in the trenches of bottles, late night feedings and toddler tantrums. I remember those days vividly! And, I know those days are hard.
Toddler in Bathrobe Flickr (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
These days are hard too.
And I have far less control of the outcome.
The people they date.
The friends they choose.
The decisions that will affect their future.
My kids are spending a lot of time pushing, stretching, and tap dancing on the limits their dad and I set.
Some days, like yesterday for example, when I actually got mad enough that I threw a sneaker at my 15 year old {yes, I apologized} we just look at each other and say “What now?”
I don’t have a lick of advice to offer another parent when I feel like I’m the most inadequate mother on the planet.
At this point, I’m going to do the only thing I know to do when you have reached the end of your proverbial parenting rope…
get on my knees and have a conference call with the Ultimate Parent.
What do you do when parenting knocks you down?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I am a mom of two adult children (20 and 18). Oldest daughter to be married in 7 weeks. 18yo son still in many ways a child. Then I have my 11yo daughter (going on 25) and my ADHD 9yo son. My hands are full (and I work full time). I will say I’ve been somewhat fortunate in that my teens have not given me too much trouble. They are basically good kids. For the most part, it’s their heart and attitude I take to the Lord in prayer. Hang in there mama. You are a good mama. You are not a failure. And God is on your side!