Happy Mother's Day - A Poem

This Ode to Mothers of teen boys, can also apply to Mothers of all kinds... Here's to YOU!

They think they're funny, not looking at me...

Pledge for Moms of Teenage Boys

by Tara Tyler

Repeat after me...

I am the mother of crass teenage boys.

When they were young, we played with their toys.

Action figures, super heroes, talking turtles, balls;

And I kissed all their boo boos after their falls.

From dare-devil stunts to record breaking goals,

I almost went blind from constant eye rolls.

As older they grew, so did their smells.

The kisses were fewer and so were the tells.

Now they are driving, impressing the girls.

It all went so fast, oh how the time whirls.

Here lies our duty to train these young lives

To be better men for their future wives.

Pledge Number One: Moms must take a stand,

Make them clean up, they should lend a hand.

Stop picking up after them, losing your minds,

Or they'll never get up off their lazy behinds.

Pledge Number Two: Limit their screens.

They must learn to speak, and not just with memes.

Expressing emotions is part of the lesson;

Mimic emojis and less text expression.

Pledge Number Three: Don't let them quit,

Staying with something makes them legit.

Commitment to job, faith, and family stuff;

Sticking with guts no matter how rough.

If we work together on these three big things,

We'll make better men with happy endings.

And don't be afraid, they'll never forget.

They'll always love mom, how e'er old they get.

Remember those boys and their sweet little faces,

And someday with grandkids, maybe they'll grace us.

Now go take it easy - or hide before they find you!

PS - Health-o-Meter: One good week, One bad week

(Teacher Appreciation is chock full of free food!)

#TopTen Reasons My #Kids Hide in their Rooms!

And with teenagers, it ain't to play Hide-and-Seek...

Top 10 Reasons my kids hide in their rooms:

1. obviously to play on their devices - though they don't think watching videos and texting and social media is "playing" it totally IS!
2. to avoid chores or HW or general nagging
3. to hide activities I don't want to know about
4. to pretend they're not around, esp if they might be in trouble for something
5. to remove themselves from a sibling getting yelled at, don't bring me into this!
6. to sulk and recoop after a loss
7. to chill and relax
8. to watch their own shows on netflix when mom has the remote
9. to clean up - ha ha ha, just kidding, that never happens
10. to nap/sleep, this one is okay, teenagers need a lot of sleep!

They do spend a lot of time in their rooms, but we have our together time too - like movie nights, sporting events, most dinners, etc. And as they get bigger, they want more time to themselves. I get it. Sniff.

We were teenagers once too. I remember spending a lot of time in my room. I liked to read books and magazines, listen to music, make puzzles, write notes to my friends, experiment with makeup, daydream about boys, talk on the phone - remember that stuff?...Though the format and speed of things have changed, kids need their alone time to figure themselves out. We also need to monitor and limit their device time, like our parents did - but that's fodder for another post!

Got teenagers? Remember when you were that age? And we survived!

Happy Monday and have a great week!