Yeah, I said it. And I’m saying it with true sincerity. I am thankful for being the mother of teen daughters. Well, technically I have one teen and one tween, but my baby is about to turn thirteen and that is way close enough. Excuse me while I sob into her baby blanket.
But I don’t have the luxury of sobbing for too long. See, I’m hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in about a decade. My memory is a little foggy but I’m pretty sure the first step to preparing for dinner is to completely switch the furniture between your living room and dining room and give then deep cleanings like they haven’t seen in five years.
No? THAT explains why I’m going insane, but just so you don’t lose faith in me, I did stop myself from going to Home Depot to get a gallon of paint. Okay, I had to turn the car around, but I’m NOT painting and that is the important thing.
But I firmly maintain it’s not delusion spurring me to sing praises to that often maligned teen demographic. I still feel like some of you are skeptical, but you’ll be true believers by the end of this post.
Tens Reasons I’m Thankful to Have Adolescents
1. They completely cleaned the basement rec room and ALL of the bathrooms . . . even under the toilet seats. I know.
2. They schlepped in all of the groceries for our feast, although they were mysteriously unavailable for the actual shopping. Apparently, I’m not raising dummies.
3. They have scrubbed and peeled a mountain of potatoes with protests so faint I could barely hear them through my earbuds.
4. Coco (15) is making the pumpkin pies. And not the fake “she ‘s baking” nonsense you do with wee tikes that takes twice as long and is twice as messy. She even cleans up. I KNOW.
5. They are doing laundry even as I hide in the closet writing this post.
And lest you think I just like having teens for the free labor . . .
6. They provide my cover story for
- my One Direction infatuation
- my intense interest in all things Hunger Games
- my awkward love of Just Dance
- our getting VIP tickets to see the Cake Boss
- my viewing of TLC bridal shows like there’s going to be a test
7. I have tons of extra accessories and shoes to choose from now.
But most importantly . . .
8. They make me laugh. I appreciate their wit, their charm, and their comedic timing.
9. We can have for real discussions about books, movies, travel, music . . . and One Direction. Did I mention that before?
10. They are my very favorite people in the world and not just because I made them. They are beautiful inside and out. They make every experience more enjoyable because they are interesting people. I mean c’mon, look at Jellybean’s Medusa Turkey.
So goes my tribute to adolescents. Be sure to throw it in my face when I have my next teen induced breakdown. You’ll probably have to wait a whole 15 minutes before that happens.
What are you thankful for?
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I think that teenagers are the demo people love to criticize, especially teenage girls. They are not half as bad as people make them out to be and when they are good, your heart just melts, right? Have the happiest of Thanksgivings and good luck with the hosting job!!
grownandflown recently posted..Getting Kids to Work Harder in School: A New York Times Motherlode Rebuttal
I really don’t like what pop culture has done to the teen years. There are some dicey times for sure, but it’s not all door slams or “I hate you” if at all.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving too. Ellen
My aunt paints her whole house, every room, each time she hosts a gathering. So you’re not that bad.
Jenn @ Something Clever 2.0 recently posted..I Quit Thanksgiving
First: How often does she host??
Second: Is there any way to snooker her into doing that to my house?
Ellen
Not so much anymore, but she used host every other year.
Jenn @ Something Clever 2.0 recently posted..I Quit Thanksgiving
Hmmm. My teen isn’t quite that cool yet, I don’t think. But I do really like her!
Jennifer Hall recently posted..The Mysteries of Blogging
That is half the battle. 🙂 Ellen
I love this! I used to teach high school and it gave me the opportunity to get to know so many really great teenagers. People always used to ask how I put up with them, but the kids themselves were the best part of my job.
Kate (Shakespeare’s Mom) recently posted..How Six Literary Classics have Prepared me for Motherhood
Thank you for this! I so often hear about the horrors of teens – this made me actually look forward to it. Finally, they earn their keep… Seriously, when you’ve put the work in as a parent it comes back in joy.
Hoo boy! What a delightful read! Sadly it also brought me to the reality that I am no longer a proud parent of teenagers. They have progressed into adults! both over the ripe old age of 21. Fortunately there is still a lot of their teenage personality left! Somehow I managed to teach them not to be in too much of a hurry to grow up. They have the rest of their lives to be adults, enjoy being a child as long as you can, once it is gone it rarely gets a do over.
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