A Case of The Mondays
So the Big One is 12. She is in 7th grade. That means we have some unpredictable days. Some days she is sweet, quiet and studious. Some days she is moody, cranky and difficult. Most of the time the mornings before school she is pretty mellow. I think she’s too tired to really put a lot of effort into being difficult so she just does what she needs to do to get ready for school. Today was a challenge for her.
It started with something irritating the back of her ear. Weird, I know. She asked if I saw a bug bite or anything because it was feeling itchy. I didn’t see anything but suggested a little hydrocortisone might provide some relief from the itching.
She walked off to the bathroom and emerged just a few second later, looking absolutely deflated.
FIXITMOMMY: What’s up?
BIG ONE: I dropped the hydrocortisone… in the toilet.
FIXITMOMMY: So fish it out, it’s not a big deal.
BIG ONE: There’s PEEEEEEEEEE in there!!!!
FIXITMOMMY: (trying desperately not to laugh) Ooookkkayyyy… go get the one in my bathroom. I’ll take care of yours.
Crisis One, dealt with.
We typically walk to school. It was getting close to time to leave, so I hollered out, “Are ya coming?” She was still in the bathroom. Her laptop, charger, phone, lunch and water bottle were still sitting next to her backpack. Heaven forbid I try to help her. You all should know that I am not capable of effectively packing her backpack. There is a system and I inevitably screw it up.
She emerged from the bathroom finally as time was getting tight. Now it’s not critical that we walk, I can drive her so I was not stressing too much. She pulled out her clean PE clothes and then began packing all the other stuff around her binder, notebooks, and God only knows what else that is in her backpack. The big stuff securely in the correct spot, she begins to work on the smaller pocket.
Now again, there is a system, most items come out, then her phone goes in first. That way it’s on the bottom and out of the way for school. For some reason, the phone was “not fitting!” She was frustrated. Again I was trying not to laugh, as was the Little One.
I told her to take a breath and it would all fit just fine. I told her not to worry about time, we would just drive. So finally that pesky phone slid in place then she grabbed her calculator and protractor that had been removed to make way for the phone. Then it happened, she noticed that her beloved blue protractor was broken.
BIG ONE: OH NOOOOOOOOO. It’s BROOOOOOKKEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN. UGGGGGHHHHHH!
FIXITMOMMY: Sweety, it’s okay. I can buy you another one. (seriously it’s a 97 cent piece of plastic, I’m surprised it’s lasted this long)
BIG ONE: I knoooowwww but WHHHHHHYYYYYY??
FIXITMOMMY: It really will be okay. Do you want to tape it for now?
BIG ONE: NOOOOOOOOOOO then I can’t read the numbers.
FIXITMOMMY: Ummmmm the tape is clear. Just one little piece of tape will hold it together and you can still see the numbers.
BIG ONE: *SIGGGGHHHHH* No It’ll be fine. If you tape it, then it will be crooked on the paper and won’t lay flat so the lines will be off. It’s FFFFIIIIIIINNNNNEEEEEEEE. *SIIIIGGGGHHHHHH*
Okay, Crisis Two sort of dealt with.
Of course, we now have to drive or she will be late. So we get in the car. It’s crazy cold. Don’t judge we live in San Diego, below 70° is cold.
So I start the car. The temp thing says it’s 56° degrees.
FIXITMOMMY: YIKES! It’s chilly this morning.
BIG ONE: *SIIIIGGHHHHHH* Yeah, well you don’t have to go put PE clothes on for first period. I’m going to FREEEEEZZZEEEEE. OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Crisis Three will be dealt with when I go buy her some sweats so she doesn’t freeze in her PE shorts. In her defense the kid has no fat on her body so in shorts and T-shirt she might actually freeze a little bit.
Again it took all that I had to not laugh. If these are the worst things that happen today, I think she will be just fine. But she might disagree.
fixitmommy.com 
So this is what my mother meant when she said that boys were easier to raise…
Happy birthday to Big One, and just think, she’ll be a teenager next year…
Yes, definitely! My husband is always telling me he was never like our girls are. He often just shakes his head in disbelief over some of our drama!
Holy Hormones, Batman! When I finally figured out that hormones can duplicate our body chemistry when we feel anger, frustration, or sadness, I was able to recognize that I when I felt angry, frustrated, or sad for no reason, it was just hormones and I could control how I would react. Life became so much more pleasant for me and everyone around me. 🙂
Who’d be a girl? I certainly wouldn’t! Such a pity that we don’t even want to know about hormones, diet, sleep, and how they affect our everyday wellbeing, until it is far too late!
Haha, Peter! You’ve reminded me about Mr. Pearson, the Custodian, at my elementary school *mumble-mumble* decades ago. He enjoyed talking with the kids in the lunch arbor — those of us with our brown bags or plaid metal lunch boxes or other themed lunch pails (but always metal). He began one conversation with my best friend and me by saying, “When I was a little girl…” Of course, I protested his premise, but he said, “No, it’s true. When you turn 12, you get to decide which you want to be — a boy or a girl.”
Well, that was a new thought to me, and I was still 3 years from 12, so I decided even if it wasn’t true, it was worth exploring. I made a conscious effort to consider my daily life through that filter. The choices I faced, people’s reactions to me, my assumptions about them, expectations on both sides. How would they be different if I chose to be a boy? And my ultimate conclusion at age 12 was that I’d choose to be a girl.
Maybe it isn’t that we don’t want to know, but that we don’t know there’s something to know. We aren’t aware those are questions we can ask. My understanding about what hormones were doing to me came at age 14, when I’d wake up angry (or sad or happy or frustrated, or irritated or impatient or…) for no reason and wonder why. The only answer that made sense was that I wasn’t angry (or sad or happy or frustrated, or irritated or impatient or…) — I only felt that way. So what was making me feel that way?