Teenage Daughters

Monday, January 16, 2023

Two words: Teenage. Daughter.

I love my daughter, but sometimes…. AHHHH!!!! My kiddo is going to turn 16 in a couple weeks. It seems she think that 16 is the new 18 and she’s an adult who gets to make her own decisions.

WRONG.

These last couple weeks, her teenage attitude has amplified. Eye rolls, sighs, groans, talking back, ALWAYS having to have the last word, arguing… I finally had enough. I snapped. To be fair, I DID warn her. I did tell her that there was a line between being amused and being pissed off and that she was starting to push me the wrong way. Then tonight, I was replacing the screen protector on her phone and there was a tiny speck of dust that the sticker didn’t get and she started on me… and I snapped.

I hate yelling at her. I REALLY do. Because when I start yelling, all I can think of is when I was the kid while my mother screamed at me. Granted, she screamed at me A LOT, and she was usually high or drunk when she did so, and it was usually over absolutely nothing since she’s bipolar and ANYTHING could set her off. But still. The look on my daughter’s face reminds me of being in that spot. By the end, we’re usually both in tears and I feel like complete crap.

Unlike my mother, after I cool down, I will go in a check on her and calmly explain, in a rational way, why I was angry. Last night, I went in and apologized for the way I yelled at her. I always try to make sure she know that, no matter what, no matter how angry I may be, how frustrated, or her behavior, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will ever change the fact that she’s my life and I love her more than anything on this earth.

The last thing I ever want is to make her feel like my mother made me feel.