Teenage Blues

Hayy…I’m feeling the brunt of being a mother of a teenage son. I thought after all the good family values you have tried to implant in your kids, adolescent angst would be a breeze. But I assumed too much. Last Sunday, the Hubby and I had a bull session with the Youngest because we have been noticing that  he has changed a lot—definitely for us, his parents, not for the better.

The Youngest has spent his freshman year in Philippine Science in Iloilo living in a dormitory. That one year away from us opened him up to a whole new world. He had to adjust to everything—the language (he only spoke English before), the living quarters (he now lives with three other roommates), food (canteen food every meal), and practically being on his own. At first, I thought that this would make him more matured and independent, and that it would be a good thing. But as I am slowly seeing every time he goes home, there are some subtle changes which I notice. First, he often loses his things—cell phone, chargers, books, wallet, which means he has become more irresponsible with his things. Second, he has become thin (but not so alarmingly thin). Third, he is not so concerned about his personal hygiene anymore—his nails are long and dirty, his face is full of pimples, he doesn’t wash up at night. Fourth, he speaks in a different dialect with an accent that comes off as impolite. And lastly and most importantly, he seems to be aloof and cold, more like apathetic to us. Gone is the Luis Carlo who was sweet, talkative, thoughtful, and who laughs at everything. Welcome to the baffling world of teenagers!

We tried to point all these to him, but you know how teenagers are. With the freedom that he is experiencing, he thinks he is invincible and can stand on his own. It was a good two hours of cajoling, threatening, crying. Finally, after a pep talk from his Manang Issa, he caved in and apologized to us. He promised to remember what we talked about .

Snippet: Mom, when I grow up, I want to be the Pope!
Sigh! I can never have him back, can I?

I told him change is good, if he goes forward learning new things, but never forgetting the values and character we painstakingly taught him. Yes, he is one of the top in his batch. Yes, he became independent. Yes, he has gained a lot of friends. But I told him all of these mean nothing if he loses his soul in the process. I asked him to give me my old Carly back, knowing I can never have him the same again. Hopefully, I would have a better Youngest when he goes back home for summer.




I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.