I stumbled onto this letter written to moms of teens on social media this week. The basics are that there is so much support when our kiddos are young, but all of that changes in late middle school. So. Very. True. Being a mom of a teenager can be very isolating.
I could relate to every single example in the letter, but I also have a few more examples to add.
The letter starts off with “I see you tired mama…” Here are my additions. What others can my fellow moms of teens add? I would love to hear more!
I see you driving hours and hours getting your teen to endless social engagements.
I see you “sharing” your toiletries with your teen girl, which means things like your deodorant and nail polish remover are often missing from your bathroom.
I see you trying to negotiate compliance for things like basic life skills (shaving and showering are the first two examples that come to mind).
I see you holding your teen girl while she cries over girl drama she cannot escape from on the ever powerful world of social media.
I see you nervously watch as your teen boy drives away solo for the first time.
I see you hugging your teen without being hugged back, but you do it anyway because you are mom.
Oh this has brought me to tears. Most of our friends don’t have teenagers yet and I feel like they judge so much. It is an all knew parenting with a teen. No more snuggles to help fix what’s wrong, the constant eye rolls and talking back makes you feel defeated. Yes yes yes I connect with this. I will think of something to add to your list.
It is such a hard time for parenting. No rule book. Let’s keep talking!