Oh yes... Boys and showers. And socks. Ohhhhhh. I don't know if I have specific anecdotes other than we are hourly swinging back and forth between angelic sweetness and teenage "I know everything about everything and life is TOTALLY unfair because you have never suffered like I have, and know nothing about how much life sucks if I can't do EVERYTHING I want when I want..."

Sarah, us too - the moodiness is really a bit much and I can't help wondering if it's partly because our culture emphasizes it so much. My nephews and nieces in India were never this way, partly because my family there doesn't have the same notions of TEENAGERS as a separate species.

Also in the "not annoying but definitely terrifying" category: My son (who is now almost 24 years old now) did plenty of not-so-smart things as an adolescent/teenager. One particular time we were staying at a lodge/camp with family friends for New Year's. As we were all gathered for dinner the first night, our friends' youngest son let everyone know that my son led them all on a WALK ACROSS FROZEN ICE earlier in the day!!!

Thank goodness no one fell through, but geez! "Don't walk on the frozen ice" is one of the first things you teach kids. Arghhhhh!

Oh the moodiness. I have 4 DDs, so I know all about that.

We have cleaned out my grandsons room this weekend and we are gettng things for the new room. He tells me I think I need a new ceiling fan too I ask why and he says because when I swing from the fan it moves. I should mention that he actually torn one from the ceiling in my room a few years ago. Tonight the husband and I decided the fan is going and will be replaced with a light fixture. He doesn't seem to get the concept that it is a fan.

Omg, Debbie. What a thought!

I am laughing so hard and relating so much to the boys stories.

Una we have the same shower situation, hates to have one, then wont get out. He sings, calls out that he 'needs' me to come in (sounds urgent, has he slipped, does he not feel well???) and then starts telling some 'wonderful' information about the impending Zombie Apocalypse. He is moody. One moment a delight, then next I don't recognise him lol. I ask him to clean his room and you would think I asked him to kill his dog!!

And as Sarah comments, it would seem that I don't know anything, his life is SO unfair! Sarah I have noticed that my Master has really started to be a little toad when he doesn't get his way. He was never like this as a younger child, I am assuming it must be a puberty/pre teen thing??

When he was about 4, he scratched his name into the side panel of my car:) We were so proud he could write his name "cough cough" and then a year or so later he grabbed a hammer while 'helping' his dad in the garage and did some panel beating on my car... such a helpful little man! My car didn't actually need any panel beating.

But you know what, he would be embarrassed to admit this, but he still likes me to come in and prayer with him before bed and he still loves to give his mum a cuddle...yes I'm such a pushover:)

Oh, my stepsons went through a phase (that they revisited even in their early 20s) in which they were experts on EVERYTHING, and dad and I were just old and out of touch. So annoying. My niece, who is a few years older than they are, was just brilliant at shutting them down with one remark. I never quite mastered that, so I just stopped arguing.

Debbie, LOL! Oh no, I am just picturing swinging from the fan, and I'm horrified but also amused. Glad no disaster came of that.

Well, on our walk yesterday DS thought it was hilarious to give my two friends and I a heart attack by crouching below the piled-up ice to hide so we couldn't see him. We thought he'd fallen through into moving water and ran screaming to find him. When he popped up grinning, I nearly smacked him out of sheer terror. His flip response was "Why were so worried if you were just going to be mad enough to kill me anyway?"

Just a week ago, we were walking a trail with Kona and another loose dog came and attacked her out of the blue. My son flung himself into the middle of this snarling, raging ball of husky teeth and tackled the other dog before I could stop him. Luckily no one got hurt or bitten. He was only concerned for Kona, but I had one of those super-mom moments where I hauled him straight up out of the fray by the collar and let him know that under NO circumstances was he to throw himself between two fighting dogs.

GAH! No wonder my hair is grey!

I love my son, but boy does he drive me crazy. He has travelled a fair amount overseas, but does little to no research. A few years ago I had to beg him to get the recommended shots, including Hepatitis. He said he thought if you lived somewhere you just got "used" to the water.

Just last week he said he and his girlfriend were going to travel to Iran this summer. I just sent him a link to the State Dept's travel advisory for Iran.