Our Teens Were Good

I am so impressed. My wife and I went away for 12 days and left our teens at home alone. We stocked up on supplies and all necessities. Our teens were good. They fared very well; made meals, did their homework and had the house clean when we returned. This was our first time to leave them behind like that and it has now set the stage for further trips alone. Our neighbors wouldn't have known we were away if we had not told them. Good kids!! Now we will actually take them on a cruise with us next time and we believe they will enjoy it. I know here are families where the experience would have been very different and I am so thankful that we had the experience we had. We will be posting the details of the cruise at Travel With Us.

Ok I Did It Again

My 3 teenagers and I have a great realtionship but sometimes I just blow it. They are great kids - and I mean every word of that. Sometimes I just become impatient. I work long hours and my wife works crazy hours that keeps her away all afternoon and evening. Thus I have been the main parent in all the kids activities, supper preparation, homework and bed readiness. Sometimes I feel like a single parent - strictly due to my wife's job requirements. So sometimes I just get real tired - and then I become grumpy with my teens. Rather than listen to what is really being said, I become impatient and go into my passive aggressive mode which I learned so well as a teen.

So yesterday my daughter was heading out to a movie with her church friends after church in the early afternoon. All of a sudden plans changed and early afternoon became 7 pm and the friends changed as well. Without prior discussion I lost it since, of course, I had already organized my day to accomodate the outing. I became quiet and non communicative - such an immature behavior. She went out but realized I was quite angry so when she got home she did not come to see me.

Today we talked it out and went through our misunderstandings. Due to her maturity, we are able to to do that. So we are back on track again.

But so many issues arise as I try to deal with the teen years in a positive way. I certainly feel challenged at times and have to dig deep to find the best way to deal with issues. I continually have to question my own values and morals in relation to my teens. I am aware that things have changed dramatically since I was a teen and I am aware that I need to modernize to a certain degree. I am firm in my approach but I try to give as much independence as possible.

I try to not be a jerk too often. Besides my work tiredness, I sometimes become wary just trying to keep up with the activities, moods, requests and friends of my teens. I guess that can be the topic of the next post. I hope to go through many of the issues that arise and how I have dealt with them.