Who's More Hormonal? Me or Him?

The deeper we get into the teenage years, the more I

tend to vent on here. Man. I hope they don't ever run 

across my blogs. If I'm suffering through the "poor me

my life sucks so bad" pity parties NOW..then I'll be 

catering "Pity-Palooza Suck Fest 2011" if they do read

them. 

I don't want to be one of those moms who gripes and

whines constantly about her kids. I remember how my

mom seemed always against me when I was a teen. I

went out for cross-country and track just to extend my

school day so I wouldn't have to fight with her all the 

time. But living in Egypt, we don't have the same sport

opportunities as we did in Germany or the U.S. I know

my oldest son would love to get a place of his own. He

keeps bugging me to find a 4-bedroom place so he 

won't have to share a room with his brothers. I told him

that he'll have to get a job to pay the difference in rent.

I don't want him to hate me. I do love him with all my 

heart. He is creative and artistic and sweet. But since

he turned 16, he's combined the teenage angst, tween

"put upon thing" and the 2 yr old tantrums that he skipped

and they're all coming out on my head full swing. I know

he hates me. He's 16. That's a given. But he is so loud

and mean about it sometimes. And he has his brothers

spending the night on the couch in the living room to stay

away from him.

It's just a phase. I keep telling myself this. I don't know

that I'm listening to me, though. I cried myself to sleep 

last night. And all four of the younger kids came into my

room to hug me and ask me not to cry. But not the one

that I was crying over. He'll outgrow it,God willing. And

maybe we'll be friends again. And maybe I'll go back to 

crying over championship sporting events and sappy 

Kleenex commercials again. And I won't feel like such

a failure as a mother again.