By Lis Komae
My Best Boy is plugging away at this business of being a 13 year old. For some reason, it's as if I expect the magic of osmosis to sweep through the mind of my competent 15 year old daughter into the completely differently-wired brain of my 13 year old son and fully format everything without me. When he's sweetly sleeping, I reflect upon this with regret. I'm still working on getting my brain and heart to adjust to his unique wiring.
This is an ongoing struggle for both of us, mostly because I am so irritable lately due to life transitions. My Last Nerve is totally out of control. Even my cat stares at it with a mixture of disgust and horror while I try to beat it back into a closet with my foot.
B is not always as participatory as I’d like and when I confront he may respond with sullen face and posture. Enter key parenting themes - Having A Good Attitude and Being Thankful. In my mind, I am attempting to remind him of good things that will help him to grow into a good man. In his mind, he is doing his best and it’s still not good enough. I don't know why, but I always take it so personally as if My Best Boy is mentally giving me the finger. This ridiculous image regularly causes me to escalate internally and here’s where the Heart Connection work is needed. For both of us.
