August 8th, 2023

The last few days have been a struggle around here. My husband has 50/50 custody of the older kids, so they are with us a week on and a week off, this schedule has been like this since I met them. With the fair being in town this last weekend they older 2 have wanted to be out running with their friends a lot more which I understand because I remember being 15 and 16. I must say though the 16-year-old is very arrogant which I know seems to be more common these days. He decided to argue with his dad about what time he should have to come home but we put our foot down and made his curfew very clear to him. Once home he was mouthy, so we sat down to talk about it and of course mom and dad don't know anything. I ended telling him that he was a very arrogant kid right now to which I had to explain to him because he did not know what it meant. Well, I hurt my kids' feelings, but I do stand behind what I told him because I have seen a major attitude improvement since this conversation. I know these conversations are not easy, but they can be had without yelling and name calling. I do not tell him these things all the time but every now and then everyone needs a little bit of a reality check whether you're an adult or teenager. I believe the most important thing to remember is they have feeling and opinions also and they need to be able to express them in a safe way and space. I am very grateful to have the amazing relationship that I do with the older kids. I do not view them as my step kids they are plainly my kids and they have chosen to call me mom.  Either way parenthood is hard and there are no short cuts!