Tween

Tween........
I drive so much nowadays with the girls in 2 different schools. Blue Bell's school an hr round trip and Tinker Tot's another 15 away from where I live. Then there's those 4xs a week I'm about 40 more miles away at the gym with Blue. So, in all this driving it gives me tons of time to think. Last night, as I was driving Blue home from gym I thought about my past 9yrs with her. Just her and me. I was a single parent when Blue was born, young, working hard to get by and establish a nice life for her and me. This is going to sound strange but I had tons of support but at the same time I was all alone. In the 9 1/2yrs that I have been her Mother or since becoming a Mother there have been so many bright spots and many lows. Blue Bell is an amazing young girl in every way. And in every way she is my clone, my mini-me, right down to the way she talks, the way she loves, her passion, her competitiveness, always striving to accomplish and be the best she can be. But, she's also stubborn, moody, did I mention stubborn, bossy, nosey, and has ADHD, and post traumatic stress disorder.
It wasn't until Tinker Tot was born that I truly realized how challenging my Blue can be. I mean of course there were the terrible 2's when I can remember sitting in my Mother's living room crying my eyeballs out saying that I would never make it. The frustration, the exhaustion, the level of dislike I had for her that evening still lingers in my mind and haunts me. Here we are 7yrs later and it's like she's 2 all over again some days. I have an oober amount of patience for my Blue Bell. My heart breaks for her in so many ways and I give her as much as I can emotionally and otherwise.
Let me backtrack for a second and give you all some background info.....maybe this blog will make a little more sense. In my life things have not lasted very long. My parents divorced when I was Blue Bell's age. We moved so much I never was in one school or state longer then 3 yrs. My family members and I since the divorce all go through periods of time where we don't speak for years, then talk for a few, then don't speak again. So needless to say the one constant in my life for the last 9yrs has been Blue Bell. Friends have come and gone, Relationships have come and gone, family has come and gone. But in 9yrs, ALL 9yrs, there has been Blue. It is sad and wonderful all at the same time. She is the longest relationship and constant I have had in my whole life.
Realizing that last night was strange for me. Thinking about our 9yrs together the ups and downs, the triumphs and struggles, the tears and joy. Lately, her and I have been butting heads BIG TIME. It hurts so bad. I hate when we are angry at each other, I hate when I have to rein her in with boundaries and punishment. It is so HARD. But this weekend, well the S*t hit the fan. It was an awful battle of the wills between her and I on Saturday and I spent most of my day hating every minute of my life. ALL. OF. IT.
I guess as Mothers we all feel that way now and then. It was a day I thought neither one of us would survive but we did. Tinker Tot cried, she was scared, she's never seen me so angry. She's never seen her sister so angry. We all hung in there, Blue staking out her side of the battle, me staking out mine. I was not going to give into her relentless teen ways and tried everything I knew to do. Tinker Tot isn't permanently scared for life. Actually, I think it was a learning experience for her. She doesn't want to make Mommy that mad E.V.E.R. But Tinker is the complete opposite of Louie........I'll have to write a blog of her own one day soon.
I was racking my brain on Sat. night to think where oh where did things go wrong that day? Why did my Blue Bell have such a meltdown? Why must she test and push to see how far she can go and every button there is? There was no clear cut answer. Usually, I could think well this happened or I know she saw something that reminded her of Roo, or some reason or excuse for the complete and total fit of rage and anger. But this weekend, there was no excuse other then she's 9yrs old and I swear she has PMS already LOL.
I felt on Sat. what I felt those 7yrs ago in my Mother's living room. How am I going to do this? How am I going to survive her tween and teenage years? I'm older now, wiser sure, but physically not up for a battle of the wills with her. I feel like sometimes we are in the terrible 2's all over again. I guess what I need is a break. A serious 24-48hrs of no kids, just some time for me. And just like when she was 2 I have support but I feel all alone too.
I see other Moms I know that are able to just dump off their kids on the 1st person that they can find to watch them and go out and have fun or stay home and relax. For me, I've never been able to do that. I feel so much guilt for asking someone to take her. People have offered, I guess it all goes back to me not being the greatest at asking for help.
I love Blue Bell with all my heart and soul. Because she is so much like me, so strong, so loving, so insightful, brave, intelligent, beautiful. She captures peoples hearts and so many love her. She is top of her class at school. She is rocking it in gymnastics. She is growing and thriving but MAN the growing pains are tough.
We will survive just like we always have and do. I'm sure I will continue to tell her that I'm taking her receipt and returning her cause she's broken and she'll laugh and smile at me. I'll tell her I'm putting her up on Ebay. She'll roll her eyes. I'll tell her get that homework done. She'll so lovingly screech "I AM!!!!!!!"
That's my Blue Bell. My dynamic, complicated, moody, and sometimes angry kid. Full of energy, Full of love, Full of lots of tween hormones.
My Blue. My tween monster. My heart, joy, and laughter. I can only think that God gave me Blue Bell to keep me on my toes, to keep me going in the dark moments of grief, to remind me of everything good.
It's been quite a ride in Motherhood with her. I look forward to our next 9 1/2 yrs and beyond. I'm excited to see how she grows and who she becomes.
In the meantime, I'm sure there will be days when I'm ransacking my house looking for that receipt.