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Friday, February 9, 2007

Things to be Proud of

I have three kids, the oldest of which is 15. It is about the 15 year old that I write today. I've raised him since he was 2. The product of my wife's first marriage, and subsequent divorce, of my three, I think the 15 year old got the stinky end of the stick, so to speak. This young man, and I don't hesitate to call him that, has undergone some very atypical changes since he turned 15 in November of 2006.

Let me explain:

First, raising a teenager is as complicated as threading a sewing machine, blindfolded in the dark. (I'm a guy, in my 30's and I know how to sew. Sew what. Bite me.)

Sometimes, he's hysterical and others, he's downright obnoxious. Last night we had frozen pizzas for dinner, along with a salad. I have a cold at the moment, so my wife and eldest child were helping with dinner. (In my house, my wife is the primary bread winner and I do my best to maintain the chores while going to college. I don't want to hear any taunting on that note either.)

Basically, my wife put the pizzas in the oven, and my son was supposed to take them out when the timer went off. The pizzas came out well done, because my son "didn't hear the timer" even though he was 15 feet away reading a book; but that's not the funny part.

We have a porcelain top stove. An upgrade we insisted on when we bought our house. So, my son goes to take the pizzas out of the oven and puts the little pot holder mats on top of the stove. (As odd as this seems, it made perfect sense to him at the time he was doing it. We use those pot holders on the table all the time.)

So, this morning, I asked him, "Hey bud? Did you put the mats on the stove for the pizzas last night so you wouldn't burn the stove?"

There was about 3 seconds of a perplexing look on his face and he made a noise that resembled someone stepping on your chest while you're lying on your back. It was like "urgph", but in a tone that said, "You're right, that was absolutely ridiculous." not the typical 15 year old, "you don't know anything" tone. (Believe me, my wife and I hear plenty of that too.)

Many times, it's very difficult to find something to laugh about at 6am. Not this morning.
At any rate, I have homework to attend.