What confuses me about life the most….

Planet Teenage Boy (PTB) and Planet Teenage Girl (PTG), specifically, their citizens.  Constantly befuddled by their responses, sudden random acts of sweetness, moodiness, angst…..  I always thought infancy was the most “fragile” time in mothering, you’ve got this helpless baby dependent upon you for everything, and whatever you do, as a mom, don’t screw it up.  Then I Had Teenagers….  Now I truly believe the teenage years are the most “fragile”, because decisions of who they are and what they will become are bubbling up during this time.  A sweet kid can suddenly veer off into random territory and it’s frightening. Other times, a teenager can be incredibly thoughtful and candid.  The trick is, you never know what’s going to happen next.  With a baby, some things are fairly predictable — the Eat, Sleep, Play Cycle.  Teenagers are either eating everything in sight 24/7 or not eating at all and being freaked about being “fat”.  Sleep… either up all night long as-though-this-is-not-going-to-affect-me-tomorrow, or sleeping 14-16 hours a day, Like A Rock. Play involves all of the social complicated-ness, boy/girl stuff, who they hang out with, and it’s not the result of an Arranged Play Date. Parenting teenagers is hard work, constant chaos, and yet attempting to appear Serene (insert perfect melodious music here).  Infants require changing the diapers constantly, teenagerhood just brings in the poop a different way.