From the Lioness' Den...

My Mother's Curse

My mother has probably been watching me for the last few days and laughing her butt off.  Laughing because the whammy she put on me by saying "I hope you get a kid just like you" has been fulfilled. Only, I know I wasn't as mouthy with her as Shelby is with me. I pushed my luck & her buttons, but I knew better than to get that mouthy with her - especially when I was 12. I risked getting my mouth slapped off my face if I did.  Some of the attitude that I've been getting the last few days didn't come out of me til I was at least 16. I'm not surprised. Everyone I know who's been through this age and the early teenage years has warned me. I've braced for it - or so I thought.

Either nobody told me or I wasn't listening when somebody may have said that they wait....until you least expect it and aren't prepared for it. They lay low being good, waiting until they see your defenses are down. Wait for the perfect opportunity like a sleepless night leaving you tired the next day. Or they take it upon themselves to wear you down and then they attack!

Mother's Day started out just like any other day, and gradually got worse. Anything I said was ignored or met with an eyeroll. If it was heard, the opposite of what I requested was done. Or if it was done, it was half-assed at best. I even had a talk with her on Saturday and said that since Sunday was Mother's Day, I would appreciate good behavior and would like things to get done when I asked her to do them. Did I get my wish? How 'bout NO!!! I was glad when Mother's Day was over.

Last night she tried for 45 minutes to convince me to make her a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. You wouldn't think anyone would be able to argue for that long over something so trivial. But my child, being the overachiever she is, can and did. She finally gave up when I went into the bathroom and didn't come out for about 20 minutes. While I was in there I heard her in the kitchen and could tell she was making her own damn sandwich! This would be the wearing down part that I talked about earlier. If this isn't leading up to her becoming a lawyer, I don't know what it is. That's the only positive thing I can see about her being able to argue something into the ground like that!

The sleepless night part happened early this morning. I woke up about 2:00 a.m. for the 2nd night in a row, and couldn't go back to sleep. This always happens during the full moon week - thankfully it's starting to go away. Anyway, I was awake til about 4:30 a.m. and then my alarm went off at 6. I kept hitting snooze until about 6:45 and then finally got up. Talk about zombie-tired! So when Shelby's getting dressed and ready for the day, she's getting her softball stuff ready so she can go to practice and starts yelling about not being able to find any shorts to wear. grrrrrrrrr  I told her in no uncertain terms, since my nerves were shot due to lack of sleep, and the wearing down the night before over the PB&J, that it was her tough luck if the clothes she wanted clean weren't. Since she knows 1-how to use the washer & dryer, and 2-if her dirty laundry isn't picked up and brought out of her room to the sorter, it doesn't get washed. And she might be able to tell what was clean and what was dirty if she'd put away the clean clothes when I put them in her room instead of letting them pile up on the chair and then spill over when the pile gets too big.

I know this stuff is universal. I know they all do it. But for whatever reason, it has just helped to put it all here and get it out of my system before I pick her up from school again today and face another round. I just keep reminding myself that this too shall pass, she really is a good kid under all the attitude, and hope for the best while preparing for her worst. *sigh*

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12:20 PM, May. 16, 2006 .. Posted by Bruinsmama

sorry your Mothers Day was not good. :(

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2:13 PM, May. 16, 2006 .. Posted by SilverMonarch

I wonder, is it as hard with pre teen boys as it is w/pre teen girls? I sincerly hope not. I only have boys...

If you don't mind my asking- What was the issue w/the PB&J? Did she not want to make it herself, or did you not want her to eat one?

Sorry to hear its been rough for you! Hang in there!

It was 9:20 p.m.

4:01 PM, May. 16, 2006 .. Posted by

and I was tired. She had eaten supper earlier than normal that night due to softball practice. She is more than capable of doing things like this herself. That is the point I was arguing. Not that I didn't want her to have it.

Edited by redsmom94 on May. 16, 2006 at 5:01 PM