The End of One Era

In a few days one very important era of my life will end and another will begin. On Oct 10 Zaman, my baby, will turn 20 and I'll have NO MORE TEENAGERS left.

He's leaving his teenagehood kicking and screaming. He still has the messiest bedroom in the house, enjoys wild and loud music, spends more time looking at his hair in the mirror in one day than I do in a month, has the 2nd most clothes in the family after me, can be sweet and charming one minute and rude and insulting the next. I never know when I should kiss him or kick him. I usually want to do both. I have perfected a kind of hug/punch to the ribs that expresses by mixed emotions based on his current behaviors.

On my dresser is my favorite photo taken then the kids were 12, 10, 8 and 6. It marks the last year I had only middle-school kids. So sweet, so innocent,four bright and smiling faces, all dressed in their school uniforms. Those were the years when homework and fast growing feet were my biggest problems. Ah, the good ole days. The years before the WAR ZONE began. One by one my children turned into monsters!

There was a one year I had 4 teenagers when they turned 19, 17, 15 and 13!!! I barely survived with my life. The fact that we use metal dishes saved us from having no dishes at all. Metal dishes can be flung across the room (full or empty), bounce off the head of your sibling (or wall-depending on you aim and throwing abilities) and never have a single dent. Walls were punched, doors were broken, equipment was broken, lost or abused, cars smashed. Then K-Mart and Walmart were offlimits for school shopping. It had to be the mall, with the lastest trends. And the boys are just as expensive as the girls, what with thier $100 team sports jerseys and $200 shoes. Girl teenager dress clothes are expensive, but guy teenagers have to spend $300 just to hang out and shoot hoops in the alley!

Then there are the raging hormones to deal with- the screaming and crying for girls, the libido and rage of boys. Being the parent of teens is not for whimps. It's nerving racking and expensive even in the best of times. And my kids are good kids. My trips to the emergency room were: 1 broken nose, one broken ankle, one shovel to the head requiring stitches, one large gaping hand wound where I had to lie to the doctor and tell him that the boy was my son instead of my son's friend cause I couldn't send him home at midnight with a huge unstitched bloody wound and he was afraid to tell his parents. Their brushes with the law included one bail the kid out of jail for throwing eggs on Halloween, a few minorish fender benders, and several tickets and court apperances. Quite a mild list for 4 kids.

Anyway, enough self torture. I'm looking forward to the good years now. I'm old, I've survived, I've grown wize. I deserve to rest and enjoy the Era of Young Adults.

Except, I think Zaman may stay an honorary teenager for a few more years. It seems some people have more angst and chaos in their lives than others.