How You Know There’s A Teenager In Your Home

My name is Monica and I live with a teenager.  Want to know how I know I live with a teenager?  Okay well I did give birth to her over thirteen years ago, but aside from that obvious factor there are plenty of other clues to a teenager in the home.

It is pretty evident when you walk into a home that a person has a newborn or baby.  There’s of course a crib and plenty of other baby equipment like a high chair and baby swing likely smacking you in the face as soon as you walk in the door.  And as they grow away goes the playpen and out come the legos and matchbox cars and baby dolls all over the house.

But as they continue to grow while they get bigger their equipment gets smaller.  So it might not hit you smack in the face that there’s a teenager at home, but none the less she’s here and reminding me of her teenage status on a daily basis.  So I would like to share that joy with you.  Some of you might be nodding right along with me like yup been there done that and some of you might be like is that really what’s to come?  Yes, this is what you have to look forward to, but I promise it’s all well worth it.  Because in spite of their idiosyncrasies they are really quite amazing young people and every time I take a step back from all of the aggravation I get to see the adult that she is going to be and you know what?  I’m going to pat myself on the back because in 13 years she’s not turning out too shabby.  She definitely has some learning to do, but that’s why she’s got at least another 5 years under my tutelage.

Hints That I’m Living With A Teenager

This list might look a little different if my son were a teenager too, but this is what the house of a teenage girl looks like.

• Plenty of electronics (ipods, laptops, cell phones, video games, Kindles).  It’s getting to the point where I don’t know what to buy her for gifts anymore because she has the electronics I’m comfortable with her having.
• Early morning texts to discuss what color to wear that day.
• Late night homework help texts.
• Clothes, clothes, and more clothes and yet inevitably she has nothing to wear.  Well, what it boils down to is nothing she likes how it looks on her.
• And along these lines, we now wear the same size shoes and she has claimed some of my shoes.
• An expert in her own mind at parenting.  That’s right, my daughter likes to tell me what I’m doing wrong with her siblings.  Maybe I should let her parent them for a weekend since she can do a much better job than me.
• Someone who will argue with me about ANYTHING.  If I tell her the sky is blue she will do everything in her power to prove me wrong.  As a matter of fact since she thinks I’m always proving her wrong (I don’t really view it that way, more like teaching) she has made it her mission to prove me wrong about something.
• Don’t expect to be able to use the bathroom in my house because sometimes I think my teenager might have moved in there.
• Drama, drama, drama.  Everything that happens gets way blown out of proportion.  I calmly question her about her chores or her grades and I’m yelling at her and saying she can’t do anything right.
• It’s loud.  Between the yelling at me and her siblings an the storming off to slam doors there’s also the music and the friends.  I have to admit, aside from the constant fighting with her siblings, me, and her father and the whole slamming doors I really wouldn’t have it any other way.

All of these things are just observations of my one teenager.  Her sister who’s hot on her heels might adjust this  list.  And then of course add a boy to the mix and I’m sure the list would include things like eating us out of house and home and the smells, oh the smells of a teenage boy.  But for the most part I think these are pretty typical of teens.  And actually, after seeing some of my daughter’s friends I would say I am definitely lucky that these are my biggest “complaints”.  I wouldn’t even really say they are complaints.  I’m definitely lucky to have such great kids though even when they are driving me completely batty.  And my teenager being so much like me has a way of doing that like no one else.

For those with teenagers what would you add to my list?  For those without teenagers what are you least looking forward to in the teenage years?

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