Monday, August 18, 2008

Another Inch Taller

My 14 year old son came back from his dad's with an elecrtic shaver and an additional inch of height. He now towers over me by an amazing-yet-disgusting 8 inches. 8. I can see my authority over him waning with every inch he grows, and fear that soon he will be ordering me around as if I am his personal servant. Of course, there is still the fear factor, which I will continue to take advantage of as long as I can. I am not sure I am prepared to be the mother of teen boys; I have gotten him several rather graphic sex-ed books (not graphic in the sense of porn, that is a whole different post that I am not even close to writing about yet!) that seemed to pretty clearly and correctly explain different things, and I offered to go over anything with him if needed-this was last year, and he very politely and shamefacedly declined-and God help me, I was a little bit GLAD. We have talked about such things as condoms and STD's and a variety of other things, but I can't help worrying about what he might ask me, or worse, how I might respond. Yikes.

I went home on break to see how the boys were faring (just this once, Eli stayed home with both Owen and Sam; tomorrow will be back to daycare like normal but O. was really, really missing his big brother!), and while I was there a friend on his stopped by. His name is J., and is one of those huge, lurking boys whose nose and feet are HUGE. He is tall and gangly and has that clumsy, goofy look of a boy who just doesn't know what to do with himself. I can't quite decide whether I like this boy or not, and his shirt today just left me more in the dark. It said, "Viagra is for pussies." Which, okay, that is funny, and I understand the appeal to a 14 year old boy. But still. What was his mom thinking? J. has spent a lot of time at the house, and he isn't a bad kid by any means-I think part of the reason I am not sure I like him is because he is so huge. He also says some things about what kind of a driver he is going to be, and the kinds of girls he is going to date, and while part of me thinks, "Keep dreaming, big guy," the other part hopes that his attitudes don't rub off on Eli. I know well that boys of that age are basically just a walking touch-guy hormone, and I am not naive enough to think that my Eli is any different, but it is still a little daunting to think that he is like J. That he has the same idea about life and women and fast cars and, let's face it, says things like pussy and lusts over young girls.

So I am feeling a little strange, and slightly out of my league. I know I have posted about this before, but it bears repeating that at this point, and because of our circumstances, Eli is well aware of the consequences of sex, and knows that even if she tells him he doesn't need to wear a condom, he should. He has been raised solely by me for over 14 years now, and he knows how hard it is-he doesn't want to become the kind of father his dad and step-dad have been. He doesn't want his own kids to grow up feeling the way he has about his dad, and he doesn't want them to have so many struggles. These are GOOD things for him to learn and know about himself, though for his sake I might wish the lessons had been less difficult for him.

And he is still a 14 year old boy; there are lots of years ahead of him, where he is going to be exposed to a plethora of different ideas and feelings and people. I could be in for a lot of trouble, it is too soon to tell. I just hope I can be the kind of mom he NEEDS when he starts having things crop up that he doesn't know how to deal with. I hope he keeps his strong mindset and opinions. I hope-well. I hope we make it.

13 comments:

FreedomFirst said...

Hmm. Makes me glad I have a ways to go before I have to deal with that....

I'm sure you'll do fine. You're smart, and you love him. Those are the two biggest qualifications.

April said...

I really think he will be all right. And that's all due to you, hon. You may not be able to handle everything yourself, but I know you. You won't stop looking until you find someone who can help.
(The t-shirt is funny, though. No, not appropriate for a 14-yr-old. But funny.)

MarĂ­a said...

You need an Uncle Andy!! Ever seen Weeds? If not that is totally lost on you. LOL

Anonymous said...

Okay, the "Viagra is for pussies" t-shirt just aggravates me. I get the double entendre and would probably laugh about it with friends, but the disrespect for women/girls that is inherent in such a joke is worrisome.

As for Eli, he's going to be great. For one, you'd never let him wear a shirt like that. You teach him to respect himself and others. You teach him courage, perseverance, and using every obstacle as a lesson in getting things right.

Have I told you yet that you are a great mom?

Momo Fali said...

You are scaring me. A lot. I'm not ready to have a teenager. Maybe if I continue to live in denial, it won't happen.

Kori said...

You'll make it just fine. I have the same worries myself as Jacob is about to turn 12 and well... 12 year old girls don't look like they did when I was that age.

And as far as the sex-ed books I am totally with ya. And when Jacob really starts to wonder I'm going to show the most horrid picttures of wanks rotting off from all the STD's out there. Hopefully that will put fear in him to keep it in his pants. lol

Briya said...

I once bought a shirt for my boy that say "bigger than yours" It was a squirrel holding some nuts. LOL.

You can do it girl, just know he will give you a run for your money.

Susie said...

Oh my.... I don't know about the friend. I am sure it is hormones, but of course that doesn't make me feel real good since my daughter is going to be 13. Can't we just lock them in a bubble until they are 21?

Jennifer said...

I have a 14 yr. old boy too--but he's still shorter than I (just barely!) and still kind of seems like a little boy to me. He has those big, hulking friends though and they scare me! I feel like I'm not ready for the "teen scene" but I'm taking it day by day.

The Viagra tshirt, however, would not fly here!!

Anonymous said...

I'm with Tammy H. on this one. I would love to meet the mother that lets her kid out of the house in a shirt like that.

FreedomFirst said...

You know, after reading all the other comments, it reminded me of a toddler shirt I saw that I would have loved for Andy. But it was just too inappropriate. It said, "Hung like a five-year-old."

It would have been perfect - embarrassingly so. But inappropriate. Still, I was tempted. Lol.

Anonymous said...

I know its funny reading those inappropriate shirts, but honestly its wrong. A 14-year old can pick out his own clothes. He can understand the context (though maybe not the consequences) of the dirty joke. A toddler on the other hand has no choice. You are making your kid into a billboard for your personal enjoyment, and I think its sick. Making a joke about your toddler's dick, really....just gives me the creeps.

I've seen a lot of T-shirts for babies that say stuff like "All daddy wanted was a blow job" and "Daddy tore mommy a new one" and while initially the shock-factor makes me laugh, I'm left with a sense of disgust after wards.

Teenagers are one thing, Babies...yeah.

Martin said...

I SO want to hear the dodgy porn stories you have up your sleeve!