Being a parent isn’t for the faint of heart. For most of us,
it’s the most difficult job we’ve ever come to love. And I think I
speak for many of us when I say that we had absolutely no idea what
we were doing when we signed on for it.
Being a parent isn’t for the faint of heart. For most of us, it’s the most difficult job we’ve ever come to love. And I think I speak for many of us when I say that we had absolutely no idea what we were doing when we signed on for it.
But fortunately, we start out small. We get these little creatures so adorable that we don’t even notice that they can’t use the toilet by themselves and that they are always spitting up on everyone and everything they come in contact with.
Now these very same babies grow up, going through various stages where they are amusing, adorable and frustrating. But not one of those stages prepares you to be the parent of a teenager. I don’t even think being a teenager yourself a long time ago prepares you to parent a teenager.
Teens are fickle. One day they love you and may even (gasp) show appreciation for the one or two of the thousands of things you do for them. The next day they look at you as though you have two heads and both heads are stupid and embarrassing to be around.
But even teenagers have a silver lining. As they grow into young adults, you see glimpses of the grown-ups they will eventually be. And for some parents, that’s a real wake-up call.
Um, yeah, I mean it’s a wake up call for me.
You see, as your child grows, you may find him exhibiting behavior that might be a tad familiar to you. OK, fine. The truth is, as Junior has grown I find him exhibiting behavior that is very familiar to me.
Here’s the deal. Junior, from the time he was little, has always been like Harry. He walks like Harry. He talks like Harry. He likes math and science and really hates chick flicks – just like Harry.
So it was pretty shocking that he has picked up one of my habits. Yes, it’s true. Although I personally don’t think I have many bad habits (something Harry hotly contests), Junior has picked up one. Or possibly two. But no more than that. I hope.
Anyway, the habit Junior has hit upon is that he has to have the last word at all times. Hello? Look, I knew it was an irritating habit, but now that I see it reflected back to me every single minute of every single day of every single year, I realize one important thing.
I am incredibly annoying to be around.
I’m not joking here, a person who always has to have the last word is a pain in the butt to deal with every day. Don’t believe me? Take a recent conversation we had on a day when Junior was doing a lot more talking and a lot less of the studying he was supposed to be doing:
Me: “Please be quiet and do your homework.”
Junior: “OK.”
Me: “I mean it. Stop talking now.”
Junior: “OK, Mom.”
Me: “No more! No more words! This is the last word spoken!”
(At this point, I admit my eyes got a bit crazy and I might – just might – have been raising my voice to a level where they could hear me in New Jersey.)
Junior: “OK.”
Me: (Sound of head exploding.)
Do you see what I mean? And imagine having that annoying little conversation and realizing that you were looking into a mirror of your own behavior. That is hell on earth, folks. Seriously. Hell. On. Earth. And it happens to me nearly every day.
And the worst part of it is … I taught him to do it. And you know what that means, don’t you? Yeah, I’ll have my revenge someday – when he passes this annoying little habit onto his kids. Looks like I’ll get the last word after all.
