But I decided that wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't make for particularly balanced reading either.
The dust has now settled and our differences are patched up, Yet I still find myself reflecting on what was possibly the first of many similar scenarios to follow over the adolescent years ahead.
So, while they remain imprinted in my mind, here are the things I wanted to say to my ten-year-old after our argument but didn't:
1. Even though others had warned me this stage was coming, I naively thought that it wouldn't happen to us. And I'm not handling it as well as I'd like to.
2. I was mad at the world at your age too - possibly even more so. Despite this, I was terrified at the level of anger pouring out of you, directed at me.
3. That thing we were arguing over? It'll mean nothing in five years' time. Chances are neither of us will even remember it.
4. You might be the one sobbing. But I'm howling on the inside too.
5. We'll get past this argument. And many, many more. And I'll always love you.
Come to think of it, perhaps I should go ahead and say that last one?
One of my own favourite bloggers, Kristen Welch of We are THAT Family, describes parenting teenagers as a hard kind of beautiful. Some days are more hard than beautiful. But we get through the hard ones, in the hope that beautiful ones will follow. The key word here is 'hope'.
How do you cope with the challenges of parenting a tween? Leave a comment and let me know.
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