Teenitude Too

Well, it was bound to happen, one daughter has turned into a lovely young lady and the other has become a raging crank pot teenager with a huge teenitude. Here is what she has said to me and I quote, "I am not getting a job" "why?" I asked adding that "if I have to get a job to pay for the things that you want to do, then you had better get a job!"

Apparently, my youngest has decided that she does not want to work or drive because now she is refusing to drive the car as well. I always wondered if we would have this problem. Even as a little girl my youngest Avery would cry and worry about growing up. She liked being little and cared for with every need and want at the ready. The thought of going to Middle School and High School always burdened her and now I have had the audacity to suggest that she start driving and working. The absolute nerve of some parents!

I understand that mooching can make life a lot easier for some people, but if I let her continue like this I am going to be living with this child forever. Once again I will have to remind my daughter that I am merely a launch pad and not a docking station. I really do not want to yell at my daughter to "GET OUT" when she is 30 and still living in my house, so I have some heavy parental lifting to do today to make sure she gets the picture of how things will work here.

Basically it goes like this, you want fun, and you need to make money. I am only asking her to try to get a job at a local orchard for two months in the fall for Pete's sake it is not like I signed her up on a chain gang. The hard work of this part of parenting is standing firm in not coughing up any cash until she breaks and screams "I GIVE!" I will see how it goes when we are out together today. Maybe just a little time with Mommy will reassure my youngest daughter that she is loved in spite of her crabby teenitude and propel her a few steps forward towards adulthood and living on her own.

So while my middle daughter is happily continuing to heal from her surgery and talking in storybook princess voices, my youngest is storming around like the giant in the bean stalk, skulking and yelling and stomping her way through each day. It is enough to send this Mom into teenitude too!