Controlling my chaos seemed like quite a manageable idea, until my kids turned into teenagers! My once solid theory was suddenly disproved like an experiment in a science class. When Mommies In Orbit was created, my twins were just a double- dip pleasure of two sweet seven years old’s!! Controlling chaos was more attuned to important stuff like, where will we buy the latest silly bands, or can we get a membership to “Club Penguin,” and some M &M’s! Sure we had our glitches in our galaxies then, but they were more like shooting stars.  However, the teenage 0rbit holds the most wild space activity to date, full of black holes and gamma ray bursts!

Credit: Aurore Simonnet/Sonoma State University, NASA Education & Public Outreach Gamma Ray Burst

How could I suddenly be longing for those sweet dual birthday parties we  used to have with all the goodie bags and gifts galore for the twins? The parent support network was more “hands on” in the early days of childhood. Chaos was simpler to manage then and the problems were much smaller too. Parents dropping off kids for sleepovers always came with some hand-in-hand emotional support and a much needed boost, “You got this, tweens are hard!”

Since our kids have become teenagers, it’s every man for himself!  With most of our kids driving now, ( and that’s a whole ‘nother story) the parental support has changed from a hug or a pat on the back to…….. hey let’s meet at Larry’s Tavern for a beer or four!!

As for controlling the chaos during the teen years, well that’s like wishing upon a star, you don’t always get what you want.  I’m learning from those parents who have already made it through the teenage years, the advice is more like grin and bear it, know when to walk away, keep your bar fully stocked and locked, and wait patiently for the next solar eclipse. This too shall pass.

If you have any teenager stories you would like to share with Mommies In Orbit, I would love to hear them!!

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