It’s not the obsession with the hair, or bankruptcy due to his clothing costs, or the accompanying struggle and fatigue that goes with a shopping experience. ("Why do you HAVE to ask salespeople for help Mom"). I think it’s more the drama, and getting pulled into the negative situations, finding myself arguing against Teenage Brain (and the dead or sleeping brain cells that go with it) and wanting to do good, but getting yelled at for trying.
Take yesterday for instance. Skyler has had 2 weeks off school. I am in the habit of asking whether he has any homework at the beginning of a break, knowing how he loves to procrastinate until the last minute to do a project, or study for a test.
In the past he literally has pulled out work the MORNING of a due date, scrambling to get it done before heading off to school. Mostly he does give himself a relaxing 12 hours to get the work done, remembering the night before that this or that project is due tomorrow. Thank the gods for texting and facebook then, because this is how he will get the project information from his peers with a few more firing circuits in their brains.
For some reason Sky’s current load of brain cells will not always let him remember where he has put the outlines for the assignments, and this is what happened yesterday.
Even though he had two weeks, count them, two, equalling 336 hours, in which to sift through the ever-increasing cache of paper in his backpack, find the assignment parameters, and start it, no he had to conveniently forget that this was due until the night before. Yes, I had asked, two weeks prior, and he said no, no homework. Yesterday, his excuse was "well you have to ask me twice, Mom." No, I don’t. And after the debacle of last night’s effort to get something done for today, I wrote out a list of rules. Here, for anyone’s future reference with teenagers, they are:
1. You do not leave assignments until the last minute and expect help! (And expect to pass)
2. You do not lie to your parents about due assignments.
3. You do not expect help after insulting said parents. (Don’t bite hand that feeds you)
4. You bring home the written outline of the assignment the day that it is handed out.
I could go on. (I probably will, the next time this happens.) The use of an agenda would be helpful for him. I’ve tried to teach time management techniques, because 50% of successfully getting through high school and post secondary education depends on it. I’ve tried hanging back and letting him sink or swim on his own. He doesn’t mind if I hang back....until that 12 hour period before the due date and he is panicking and dramatic.
But I have to credit Skyler with sticking with the project, even after I left him alone (and he threatened to just leave it alone and fail), and with regaining his good humour before the end of the evening. This boy does have that ability...he is so dramatic when things are falling apart around him, but it doesn’t take him long to regain balance and he is happy and smiling and cheery. (Me, I’m still brooding about the whole thing, but you can hardly tell from these mutterings, can you)
And of course today, on the due date, after all that fuss......it ended up that the teacher was away and a substitute knew nothing about it. So Mr. Procrastinator has an extra 24 hours to work away.
But I can’t sit here and blather away on my blog....teenager assignment to type up!
Some mothers never learn....
Sky worrying about schoolwork over the holiday along with Justin Bieber-look-a-like pal.
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