Trying My Patience

Teenagers...

Need I say more?  I don't think it's needed but I will say that my kids have taught me more patience than I could have ever learned anywhere else.  My son is almost 14.  While that makes me feel old it also makes me feel apologetic for how I treated my parents when I was that age. 

Defiance is not fun when you are a parent.  I remember doing it when I was a kid.  I am not proud of it now because I think I am getting paid back double. 

All I can think to do is just accept what he is being defiant about and be patient and just love him.  He is an alien to me!  Oh how I miss the terrible twos these days.  At least then if you put them in a time out they behaved better afterward.  Now I can send him to his room and he comes out twice as ornery. 

I know now that when he is old enough to move out, these days will make it easier to let him go.  However, it saddens me to no end that my sunshiny little boy hates me these days.  I just want to wrap my arms around him and never let go and push all that hate aside.  I love him more than I could have ever imagined loving someone, even when I don't like him.  Children have a way of teaching us things that we can never learn otherwise and while I wouldn't want to give up the wisdom, I would give up the pain.  My child is going to be a man sooner than I want him to be, and I know these days of rebellion will not last and that is comforting.  Someday he will learn this lesson with his own children and I will be there for him to remind him of how he was "at that age."  Until then I will just love him and be patient and pray.  That's all I can do.