I often think that the only difference between my kids and myself is the fact that I HAVE to get up and go to work and be responsible and they don’t. Of course, if you were to ask them, they would think that I have all the choices they don’t have, and here I am looking at them and thinking they have all the choices that I don’t have.
Recently, I was debating this fact with a friend–a childless person who maintains that it is much harder to be an adult and that teenagers get cut a lot of slack. She can’t figure out why everyone thinks it is so tough to be a teenager when they have mom and dad to fall back on and don’t have to face the full extent of their choices and mistakes. I don’t agree with her, however, and I can remember just what a tough, crazy time adolescence was. But, I do see her point when I’m looking at my lounging kids and thinking how much I would like to NOT go to work and NOT have to do anything either!
Perhaps it’s because it is summer time, or because I still get calls from teachers and principals during the school year asking me to answer for my kids’ behavior. Perhaps it’s because there is some inkling of truth to what my friend says when I realize that the bucks stops with me and I am the person ultimately responsible for just about everything that goes down in my little world. I can remember that teenage feeling that the world was not going to end if I quit my lousy part-time job, or skipped German class or decided not to go to the speech tournament. It’s tough not feel a little pang of envy for those bygone days–especially when I have to get up and go to work on a perfect summer day!
See Also: What’s Your Plan for the Day?