Control Freak

Parenting is not for sissies. Parenting is also not for people who like things done a certain way, especially when you expect your children to do what you ask them to do in the time that you expect it to be done. Throw traveling into the mix and you suddenly feel like a Hitler want-to-be. Here is just a sample of my day yesterday. "Get your room clean; that includes putting your sheets back on your bed." "What are you wrestling in your sleep anyway that requires ripping your sheets off the bed?" "Please get your room clean, I have asked you for the last two days." "I have been gone all day and you are still in your pajama's AND YOUR ROOM IS NOT CLEAN!" "WHY did you put a full size fitted sheet on your twin bed?" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT IS ALL YOU COULD FIND? WHERE DID YOU LOOK?" "I AM YELLING AT YOU BECAUSE I HAVE REACHED MY LIMIT!!"

 It was suggested to me once that I should just close the door of my teenage daughter's rooms and not worry about it anymore, but I have tried and tried and I still worry about the messy room. I especially worry about the conversation when my daughter's guest goes home and tells their Mom "Wow, her room was a dump!" Having recently spent some money trying to get a particular teenage room more sophisticated I am even more annoyed and aggravated. Being annoyed and aggravated turns this Mom into a giant control freak who can only yell when she speaks and it also requires me to use the whole of both my arms, waving them about like exclamation points.

 While Mom is having her break down her daughter is wondering why Mom is so upset and why she is being "so mean". This only aggravates the control freak more because Mom was driven to this point by the daughter and this same daughter is shining her halo acting like Mom is a nut job and in need of serious help. All that is left is for Mom to haul her stressed, crabby and tired fanny to bed and hope that when she wakes up the dawn of a new day will help make things better.



The sunrise as we drove through Ontario towards New York


 That's where we are this morning as we drive the six hours to Rochester, New York. Watching the sun rise helped me realize that every day is new. What seems like the same daily routine and the same life is always just a little different. This gives me hope that maybe I can release my control a little bit. There might even be a chance that someday my daughter will be standing in my shoes and have an AH Ha moment as she tries to explain to her own child what clean is and how long it should take to get there. That thought makes this confirmed control freak smile.