Damnit, Too Soon
I have a kid at wit’s end and it terrifies me. He’s always been my sensitive one, but to watch the anger well up and burst over the dam along with some truly heart-stopping, blood-freezing threats, well, I’m at a complete loss.
Mostly because I see so much of me in him. I know exactly to a tee what he’s experiencing and as hard as I’ve tried to keep him off that trail I’ve blazed, trying to help him pick through a path that’s completely new, he’s jumped over to the one flagged with my bright yellow markers and is caught in the quicksand.
Look, I know some of this is the change in his hormone levels. And while my husband makes it sound like I’m offering up a cop out, just like he makes fun of the toddler woes mantra I fell prey to (he’s teething, he’s going through a growth spurt, etc.); I don’t think it should be waved off so casually. The kid does have a wild hair at times.
I’ve always been firm with him. He knows his limits and for the most part, he’s always stayed within them, but there’s a part of him that tears away and breaks through those barriers with such ferocity, I can see it on his face that it scares him more than it does me. And being that frightened only seems to make it worse.
If this is like when he was younger, I know it will pass. But his cognitive awareness is far more developed now along with his reasoning. I feel that if I slip up and make the wrong call, I could drive him completely away. I don’t know that I could live if that was to happen.
Who said girls were difficult at this age? If they’re moreso, my condolences to those of you with them. And my hat’s off to those of you who’ve survived this stage. I suppose I should get the molds made up for the dentures I’ll need, because I’m willing to bet I’ll have ground mine down to nubs before this is through.
Is it too late to convert the college fund to the dental plan?
