Teenager Blessings (that may kill me!)

For the purposes of keeping the names of the guilty confidential, children will be known as T1 (the 15 yr introvert) and T2 (the 12 yr extrovert). We also have a Nanny for after school transportation, homework tutoring and outdoor activities so T1 and T2 don't kill each other. She is a 20-ish college student and will be known as "Nanny K".

What can I say? Life with teenagers in a continual emotional roller coaster and exhausting journey of blessings (aka...hell). My two teens are male, 12 and 15 years old. One is an extrovert and one an introvert. I love them both dearly but honestly, they exhaust me. One of things I have yet to become accustomed to, the constant physical energy and noise from jumping, running, kicking, stomping, punching (yes we have a 125 lb punching bag), wrestling, etc. Sigh…it makes me tired.


Over the last two weeks these are the Teenager blessing I have been gifted with:



T1: On two separate occasions he snuck into the lower level after midnight to play Xbox 360. After the first sneaky event I removed the power cords and hid them in my bedroom. The second occurrence happened as T1 searched my bedroom (against the rules), located the cord and proceeded to play until caught in the act. This sneaky behavior caused him to lose Xbox for one month. Sigh....I do not approve of sneaky, dishonest behavior.


T2: He lost the following school supplies but didn't inform me until he was over a week behind in homework (grrrrr…); 1 spelling text book, spiral math journal, spiral chat journal and spiral spelling journal were lost. Unfortunately all the homework assignments for each class were contained in the missing journals. I was prepared to buy a new text book for $50 and replace the lost journals so homework could be made up. One the day I was determined to send check for payment, these items were found in his classroom behind some cabinet.  Of course he has NO CLUE how they ended up there. Sigh.....I’m tired.


THEN THE BIG BLESSED HAPPENED...


T1 and T2: On a Thursday afternoon all hell broke loose when T1 and T2 argued over T2 entering T1's room without permission. T2 happened to have a friend over which escalated the issue. T1 was already seriously ticked off and T2 proceeded to divulge a secret that should have remained secret. This sent T1 into a tailspin of angry physical teenage emotion. This ultimately resulted in BB gun pellet holes in 2 bedroom doors (NOT COOL!!). Bloggers should be aware that this occurred with "Nanny K" in the home. The rapid decline of the situation and escalating irritation between T1 and T2 could have happened in my presence so I don’t blame Nanny K at all. Upon my arrival home from work, I had a family chat with T2, T2's friend and Nanny K. T2 and T2's friend admitted to irritating T1. After much discussion T2 agreed that provoking T1 with the "secret" was inappropriate and prompted T1's angry outburst. T2 was too angry to even discuss the situation until late in the evening when T2 was at hockey practice. T1 admitted that he lost his temper and shooting BB guns in the house was against the rules but was so angry about T2 sharing the secret, he just lost it. (Note that we have been working on appropriate actions when emotions are at a peak...obviously we need some more focus in this area.) As a result of these destructive and inappropriate behaviors, T1 lost coveted technology privileges of Xbox 360 (extended from previous grounding above), Facebook and computer gaming, iPod Touch, friend activities and cell phone with the exception of calls/texts to Mom, Dad or Nanny K for 2 weeks. T2 lost coveted privileges of Facebook gaming and IM, friend activities, ice skating, ice hockey outside of regular practices and cell phone calls/texts except to Mom, Dad or Nanny K for 2 weeks. Sigh…it has been a long damn day, I’m exhausted.

Following the Thursday event and just when I think I have things under control (what the heck was I thinking), THE BOTTOM DROPS OUT…


While gathering up laundry on Saturday in T1's room and shutting off the TV, I noticed a washcloth covering something on the dresser. Upon removing the washcloth I found a half empty bottle of "Mike's Hard Lemonade", which is not lemonade. I was shocked and immediately summoned T1 for explanation. He was honest and reported that he, T2 and T2's friend had all sampled the Lemonade on Thursday (bloggers should note this was the same Thursday as the BB gun incident). T1 confirmed they were aware this was not basic lemonade and contained alcohol. I was not expecting honesty although I had no idea what lie T1 would conjure up. I do give him credit for telling the truth and owning up to the mistake. T2 was subsequently questioned and honest. He stated "We just wanted to try it Mom". Sigh... I’m beyond exhausted!
As a result of the alcohol incident, an additional month of grounding was added to the Thursday restrictions. T2 was given an additional restriction of the friend in attendance at both incidents being banned from our house for the remainder of the month.

 As of this posting, March 1, 2010, all grounding has expired. We embark on a new month of blessings with teenagers...I’ll let you know how it goes, after I take a damn nap!!!


Hugs,  Erin