Back for the teen years…

Someone once said, you are only as happy as your least happy child. Insert adjective…you are as delighted, as depressed, as excited, as sad, as ________ as you least/most ________child. And as it turns out, only as REBELLIOUS. All true, ALL true.

I find myself firmly planted in the midst of something I never lived in denial about…the deeply rebellious and accountability-punting nature of my daughter. And it is making me only as rebellious and accountability-punting as, well…her. And I knew it, from en utero. Proving to be the ultimate test of two very distinctive but not-so-different wills. Whether it be chola lipliner or tops that pop the burgeoning boobs, it’s a real mind-F, that is for certain.

I feel vulnerable over things I cannot control. And in the midst of this challenge, I know, I know, my best bet is to use reverse psychology and shut my pie-hole over anything that doesn’t matter {be cool, Krissy}. I’ve been this chick and now, an even further new found respect for my own mother persists. How in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks did she not lose her ever-loving mind.

Tonight, I picked her up from the football game. We battled over what she wore, as per usual. On the way home, she told me excitedly about her time and the boys and the friends and I am so grateful she shares with me. I like her so much. She sang Ariana Grande at full volume, she thinks she’s in her register. I’ll save you the suspense…she is not. I’m somewhere between “shut the fuck up” and “sing your heart out, baby girl” and that, in a nutshell, is mothering teenage daughters. Somewhere in the in-between. You remember it, you want it for them, you fear it for them, you love it and hate it. All at the same time. Overall, it was a good night so I’ll shut the fuck up.

Underrated Things in a Pre-kid Life

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Lolly-gagging at the store. The certainty of your self-righteous views on parenting. Not being asked for a thing for an extended period of time. Believing dogs are equivalent to human children. Going to Costco every six months (instead of every 6 days). Taking time to pick out your outfit. Being able to hold your bladder. Being alone in your house. Only having to wipe your own butt. Long showers. Morning sex. Quiet. Organized drawers. Not having to explain what a tampon is. Carelessness. Eating your own plate of food. Unedited music. Unedited television. Matching socks. The joy of dining out. Leaving hot liquids just sitting around. Not having snot on your clothes for any reason. Finishing a book that is not, in any way about parenting. Sitting down on a urine-less toilet seat. Having kids.

Just a little vacay…

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“That’s all I want. Just a day to recharge.” I can be found saying this from time to time when the grind is getting me down, when my patience is waning.

I get my chance, my dangling carrot. I have an opportunity to visit my husband while on business in Las Vegas. The planets have aligned, my mother has consented to oversee the troops. I have 30 sweet, sweet hours. Now is Vegas on my Top 10? Not really. But the idea of an adult playground and a little bit of dirty is appealing when you’ve been on a Curious George bender.

I board the plane with all of the enthusiasm of a virgin bride on her wedding night. Trash magazines in hand, destination: Sin City. The flight from Seattle is 2 hours. And 39mins into the flight, trash mags read and re-read (I actually lost IQ points) and I’m talking to the 6mo old baby behind me. Wondering what my kids are doing? And the first thing I do when the plane lands? Pull out my phone and force photos of my kids on the two less-than-mildly-interested neighbors whose only interactions with me were letting me get up to pee. “Wanna see my kids?” Not really, lady. I’m a disgrace to mothers everywhere who just need a break. Unable to unplug and leave the responsibilities behind. But those responsibilities are so freaking cute. And the further I get from my front door, the more I wonder why I would ever leave.

It’s kind of like an ex-boyfriend. You’re miserable. They’re frustrating you in every possible way. You can’t stand them anymore. You break up. They move on. All you remember are the good times. 39 mins into my flight. My promise land: Las Vegas, NV has become a 30 hour prison preventing me from the best slobbery kisses. No one to ask me incessant questions. No one to cry when I put them down.

Now, for SAHMs everywhere, I vow I will make the best of this prison. I will start with a lounge chair and a cocktail. It’s just so good to be reminded that you love what you’re doing with your life and there’s no where else, not even Sin City, that you’d rather be.