home WORK

I love my kids more than breath and all that good stuff.

My TallBoy is apparently intent on inventing or discovering as many possible ways to make me completely aggravated if not downright MAD in as short a time as possible.

He has been going through a growth spurt (AGAIN!) and so is all grumpy and generally miserable. I feel some compassion for him because the poor guy keeps banging his legs on the railings of his loft bed as he sleeps in addition to growth pains.

He's also doing his pretty typical bored as heck gifted kid dance, and I have totally lost patience with this sorry state of affairs. His grades and effort (or lack of it) towards them has me completely stymied me in every possible way. I recently checked his grades online and discovered a class with a single digit percentage for his overall grade. I try to be pretty relaxed and understanding but completely failed at this endeavor after this information.

I know I have to let him make his own mistakes and deal with his own consequences. I know that this is his future and his responsibility. However being his mother and knowing he's capable of much more than a single digit percentage or "skating by" in several other classes is enough to bring about my more forceful and authoritative nature.

Consequences mean I have to enforce them, though. And man, that can be a lot of work.

We haven't had the TV on since Monday, and I didn't realize how much I could get done with it off. I have cooked dinner 3 times this week (a genuine miracle, I tell you) and laundry, dishes and vacuuming have gotten done as well. There might be something to the "turn your TV off" week after all.

yeah, more housework...

as much as I grumble, I like the results. But sticking to it has been a test.

Maybe TallBoy will actually PASS a test, too?