“If you could change something about me, what would it be?” This was me asking my fourteen year old son to speak into my life.
I should have prayed first. Or sat down. Or taken something.
“You make everything so serious.”
O-kay. Not wanting to sound “serious” in my response, “Alright…I can see that. Like, you want me to be more fun?”
He shrugged. He apparently didn’t have a three-step plan for me to put into practice on the tip of his tongue.
A few minutes went by. I, of course, was totally stewing over this. But we kept playing in the pool, me acting like the carefree mother that I like to pretend that I am.
“Okay, I know this actually makes your point even more valid, that I’m about to ask follow-up questions and such, but, just hear me out. Do you realize how hard it is to be a single mom? Because it’s really hard. And I take my role as your mom seriously because it’s a huge responsibility. I’m trying to do this thing right with you and your sister, and I’m doing it alone. That’s kind of a big deal.”
Blank stare. (He was probably thinking, “Stop talking. Please stop talking. You’re totally proving my point.”)
“Well, I’ll work on being more fun and stuff. But I just needed you to know that.”
“Okay,” he said, then went under water.
An hour later, he and I were playing some random board game, his sister on the couch doing something on her computer, and I laughed at something Jack said. Sara, “Your laugh is weird.”
Some days, I just can’t win.
If this post helped you, “Moving On as a Christian Single Mom” is for you, found here.
LOL, and don’t worry about how you sound! I can so relate. I fancy myself an entertaining mom/teacher with a self deprecating sense of humor. I still remember the sting of being told “You’re really not as funny as you think you are” by my teen. (I wanted to protest, “But I can laugh just like Popeye! What about the time I drove the carpool wearing the fake Bubba teeth? How about the night I drove the get-away car when you toilet-papered your friend’s house?”) One day a student presented me with a note which read, “You are the funniest, smartest, nicest teacher I’ve ever had.” It remains on the refrigerator to this day as a reminder to all concerned. 😀