I Am Doing It Already
There perhaps is nothing as rewarding as being a parent.
It is incredible watching a young baby incapable of making endearing gurgling noise, eating ferociously, and filling diapers grow into a young adult.
My son recently turned fifteen, and having a teenage son, is like trying to navigate a mine field, blindfolded, carrying a tray of delicate porcelain teacups and attempting to jitterbug.
Accidents and mishaps are inevitable.
The trick, as I am slowly discovering, is to maintain the damage to a minimum.
As I study his facial features now, I no longer see a young boy; I see the firm chin and piercing eyes of a determined young man.
Although at this point I have not completely concluded precisely what he is determined at.
Up until most recently he was the neatest of individuals.
He prided himself in keeping everything neat and tidy.
He would fold his clothes and put them away in an orderly manner that would put Martha Stewart to shame.
In his room everything was in its place, books were neatly stacked, CD's in their covers, the bed always made...
I can not pin point an exact time of the dramatic change- but boy oh boy- change he did.
Now making the bed consists of pulling the eiderdown over the rumpled sheets, putting his clothes away means shoving them willy-nilly in the cupboards.
Tidying his room means shoving everything under his bed.
Need I go on? Of course, he invariably gets caught upon closer inspection, and what follows after some eye rolling and murmuring under the breath is a frantic re-do.
Two of the phrase that are firmly in his repertoire is "I was just about to do that," or the perennial favorite, "I am doing it already.
" It seems that whenever he is reminded of what he should be doing one of those lines are vehemently fired back.
The other day he was playing video games and I asked him if he had cleaned his rabbit cage- "I am doing it," he said, looking bewildered.
"No your not," I shot back, knowing full well I had made an error.
"I just told the rabbit I will be doing it in a few minutes- she likes to be warned.
" He replied in disgust at how i could not know that.
What could I say? A few years ago his fashion sense was conservative, and he wanted to blend into a crowd.
Now the skinnier and tighter the jeans are the happier he is- and the louder and more obnoxiously colored the shirt the better.
We are heading to Maui in a few weeks- and I wanted to purchase him a nice clichéd Hawaiian shirt for the scheduled Luau.
He went straight for the brightest green shirt I have ever seen.
However I feel I must say that he is overall a great kid, and I am as proud as punch of him.
He is getting A's and B's in High School- and has even been nominated by his English teacher for a special achievement award- which is a major honor as only a tiny percentage of students are awarded this.
Of course being strict is exactly one of my best traits.
I try to maintain a firm and orderly grasp on him- but sometimes in one of my many lectures I find myself not taking myself seriously.
Recently we discovered that he had been exploring caves and tunnels etched into a nearby creek.
He came home covered in mud a couple of times, and then I discovered he was taking along a flashlight.
I caught myself saying...
"Who do you think you are- one of the Goonies?" Of course my wife started to laugh, and then my son joined in.
Then, as much as I tried to keep a stern face, I too began to giggle.
But I managed to get my point across that it was not safe for a multitude of reasons- and rattlesnakes and other animals liked to lurk in such conditions.
He got the point- and, as far as I know, has yet to go exploring again.
And I further suppose, that when I was his age, I was much like him...
weren't we all? I am sure that I thought I knew it all- and that my dad was out of touch with the younger generation.
Perhaps I wasn't as tidy as I could have been, I dressed completely in black- much to my dad's disgust- and I certainly played my music too loud.
Questionably I have turned out all right- so I suppose I should not worry.
It is just a stage that the vast majority of teenagers seem to go through- and I know at age fifteen things are going to get worse before they get better.
The best i can do is damage control- keep loving him, keep listening to him, and most importantly of all keep believing in him- and never, ever lose my temper and utter something I will later regret.
But, being a parent is the greatest thing in the world, and never a dull day goes by.
By P.
S.
Gifford
It is incredible watching a young baby incapable of making endearing gurgling noise, eating ferociously, and filling diapers grow into a young adult.
My son recently turned fifteen, and having a teenage son, is like trying to navigate a mine field, blindfolded, carrying a tray of delicate porcelain teacups and attempting to jitterbug.
Accidents and mishaps are inevitable.
The trick, as I am slowly discovering, is to maintain the damage to a minimum.
As I study his facial features now, I no longer see a young boy; I see the firm chin and piercing eyes of a determined young man.
Although at this point I have not completely concluded precisely what he is determined at.
Up until most recently he was the neatest of individuals.
He prided himself in keeping everything neat and tidy.
He would fold his clothes and put them away in an orderly manner that would put Martha Stewart to shame.
In his room everything was in its place, books were neatly stacked, CD's in their covers, the bed always made...
I can not pin point an exact time of the dramatic change- but boy oh boy- change he did.
Now making the bed consists of pulling the eiderdown over the rumpled sheets, putting his clothes away means shoving them willy-nilly in the cupboards.
Tidying his room means shoving everything under his bed.
Need I go on? Of course, he invariably gets caught upon closer inspection, and what follows after some eye rolling and murmuring under the breath is a frantic re-do.
Two of the phrase that are firmly in his repertoire is "I was just about to do that," or the perennial favorite, "I am doing it already.
" It seems that whenever he is reminded of what he should be doing one of those lines are vehemently fired back.
The other day he was playing video games and I asked him if he had cleaned his rabbit cage- "I am doing it," he said, looking bewildered.
"No your not," I shot back, knowing full well I had made an error.
"I just told the rabbit I will be doing it in a few minutes- she likes to be warned.
" He replied in disgust at how i could not know that.
What could I say? A few years ago his fashion sense was conservative, and he wanted to blend into a crowd.
Now the skinnier and tighter the jeans are the happier he is- and the louder and more obnoxiously colored the shirt the better.
We are heading to Maui in a few weeks- and I wanted to purchase him a nice clichéd Hawaiian shirt for the scheduled Luau.
He went straight for the brightest green shirt I have ever seen.
However I feel I must say that he is overall a great kid, and I am as proud as punch of him.
He is getting A's and B's in High School- and has even been nominated by his English teacher for a special achievement award- which is a major honor as only a tiny percentage of students are awarded this.
Of course being strict is exactly one of my best traits.
I try to maintain a firm and orderly grasp on him- but sometimes in one of my many lectures I find myself not taking myself seriously.
Recently we discovered that he had been exploring caves and tunnels etched into a nearby creek.
He came home covered in mud a couple of times, and then I discovered he was taking along a flashlight.
I caught myself saying...
"Who do you think you are- one of the Goonies?" Of course my wife started to laugh, and then my son joined in.
Then, as much as I tried to keep a stern face, I too began to giggle.
But I managed to get my point across that it was not safe for a multitude of reasons- and rattlesnakes and other animals liked to lurk in such conditions.
He got the point- and, as far as I know, has yet to go exploring again.
And I further suppose, that when I was his age, I was much like him...
weren't we all? I am sure that I thought I knew it all- and that my dad was out of touch with the younger generation.
Perhaps I wasn't as tidy as I could have been, I dressed completely in black- much to my dad's disgust- and I certainly played my music too loud.
Questionably I have turned out all right- so I suppose I should not worry.
It is just a stage that the vast majority of teenagers seem to go through- and I know at age fifteen things are going to get worse before they get better.
The best i can do is damage control- keep loving him, keep listening to him, and most importantly of all keep believing in him- and never, ever lose my temper and utter something I will later regret.
But, being a parent is the greatest thing in the world, and never a dull day goes by.
By P.
S.
Gifford
