Is there anything more efficient than a teenager to....

take a perfectly fine Mother's Day and send everyone's mood straight to hell? Just checking.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers here and especially those having to deal with these surly hormonal creatures. Hang tough ladies!

Of course, that just means she needs extra cuddles and I'm always cool with that part.

If being on one's period kills moods, wait until perimenopause--now that's one big, freakin' mood-killer! The lady of the house isn't the only one suffering. Her moods kill that of everyone else around her. :evilfrown:

Just wait, pal. You'll see what I'm talking about. What's worse is that a perimenopausal mom is most likely to be dealing with teenage kids, and that combination is a recipe for domestic disaster!

I know: I've been going through it since I was 42, and only now am I starting to calm down. :nuke:

It started for me when I was 47, hung on until I was 53. Right around that time, the horror stories of hormone replacement vs breast cancer hit the media, so I never took anything and spent 6 years sweating at the most inconvenient times, with monthly migraines that knocked me off my feet, exhaustion that turned me from a fit athlete into a couch potato, and interrupted sleep on a nightly basis.

But at least I didn't have any emotional reactions....or so I thought, until I just burst into tears one time watching a woman with her kids and thinking how beautiful it was. Now, I'm 6'1" I learned a long time ago big girls don't cry, so that's not my M.O. I realized then just how totally hormonally affected I was.

But...after going up 3 sizes and feeling tired all the time, I just gritted my teeth, went back to the gym and took it all one moment at a time. It's been 3 years, I'm down to a Size 4, and I feel like a kid again. All those damn women who talked about menopause as a "transformation" and how you're a "butterfly coming out of your cocoon"...you know, the ones you wanna kill as painfully as possible right now--well, screw the drama, but they're right. It's so freeing not to be a slave to estrogen, and physically I'm in the best shape of my life. Yeah, I still can't see without reading glasses and I never remember where I put my keys, but middle age means you're not fearful or limited anymore. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

I'll be under six layers of sheets and blankets and she'll throw all the covers off.

My enterprising friend got those gel packs that you stick in the freezer and use in coolers. She freezes one and puts it under her pillow every night. Then when she's warm, she turns the pillow over for a nice cool surface.

I personally think they should make sheets from "cool max" the same fabric they use in workout clothes. Someone could make a mint off that!

:hug:

A friend of mine who had many more children than I, once said something along the lines of that aliens come and kidnap your beautiful sweet child somewhere around the age of 12-14 and leave a snarly nasty beast that looks just like your child.

Somewhere around the age of 18 or 20 or so they will bring your child back.

My son especially was unbelievably retched for a few years. He's a wonderful almost 21 (next week) guy now. Does things like calls me just to say I love you and all that.

So hang in there.

:hug:

everything ok?" when she failed to check in as promised on a foggy night after a drive to the beach over a canyon road with her boyfriend. Did not get a response for well over an hour.

When she finally showed up at home a half hour beyond her curfew, I was told I'm "the most annoying person" in the world and reminded that when she's away at college next year she'll never be checking in with me.

Somehow she manages to keep her cell phone operational at all times so she can respond instantly to her friends, but it's conveniently off and/or ignored the few times I try to reach her.

Mother's Day is my least favorite day anyway. No one wants to pay for a meal out, so I end up cooking for the family as usual. Sucks.

Every fool who never pays attention to his or her mother for years at a time takes them out on mother's day. The restaurants are busy and everyone gets surly. It is not worth it.

She buys herself a treat. :)
She lives out of town, but we make plans to meet up some other time. :)

Also, I call her. :)

Happy Mother's Day? :)

I laughed out loud! I told mine that between her needing TLC and money, we would be having just the right amount of contact. And that's the way it happened.

a parent's bank account. She'll only be an hour away, and I'm anticipating lots of "I need money" and "Can you take me home this weekend?" kinds of contact. She's used to lots of pampering and attention and is in for a rude shock when her roommate refuses to wait on her!!

other day of the year? I used to have an in-law who was in the wholesale chicken biz, learned that little tidbit from him. Us womenfolk really like our chicken.

Edit - I meant to reply to post #5. :blush:

... and for that I am supremely grateful. The 19-year-old is in town, and always a pleasure to have around. Her brother, at 16, is happy enough to see her that it brings out the best in him.

Man, I love these kids.

I often wonder how they survive. Considering that most every one who knows such a boy wants them gone for about 3 years.