It’s Ok, Middle Season Mommas

Middle Season Mommas, it doesn’t have to be so hard.

Spoiler Alert!

If you are a new mom or mom of younger kids, i.e., “New Season Mommas,” turn away now! I don’t want to scare or spoil the future for you. Enjoy playing on the floor with your little one, listening to the coos of your newborn, or watching your kindergartener get their first “I’m Awesome at This Subject” certificate. Or maybe this can be a cautionary tale.

Those of us that are far beyond those years, and have ventured into the “Rush Week” of parenthood, buckle up! It’s a heck of a ride! Just when you thought, “oh, yay! They’ll be so independent … know how to get up on their own, make their own lunches, do everything right. We read all the books when they were younger, so everything will be easy peasy, right?! We’ll be able to sleep in, blah, blah, blah” (insert laughing emojis).

Mother Nature and Father Time have other plans, and they are working together with the mighty being called Puberty. Puberty has a way of turning your sweet, wonderful, always-looking-up-to-mommy/daddy-for-all-the-answers-in-the-world baby into someone you don’t even recognize. And it feels like it happens overnight. They can go from absolutely adoring you to quite often pointing out every little thing you do is wrong. “What are you wearing? Why did you cook this? Why do you do this? Why do you do that?”

But before you start matching energy with your preteen/teen, take a step back and put yourself in your child’s shoes. Think about everything they are dealing with during this time. Puberty also makes them point out all the things they think are wrong with themselves and makes them kinda scared to tell anyone how they feel. And if they can’t talk to anyone, it just builds up inside of them. And who takes the brunt of their release, that’s right! You! And because of this, it’s easy to take it personally. All the more reason to take a step back and remember when you were their age.

Just to be clear, it doesn’t mean they can be rude or disrespectful— check them on that. But step back and make yourself open to your young adult being able to actually talk to you. Doing so can make these “Middle Season” years far more enjoyable.