Hormones?

My hubby and I are experiencing something new.  Hormones.  No, not our own hormones, although that deserves its own blog post.  Nope, we're talking about the preteen, I-can't-believe-the-whole-world-is-against-me angst of my oldest boy, who at this point is less than a month away from entering middle school.

Yeah, there's this whole thing about drama that the teachers talked about at orientation back in May.  Wha??

Really, I didn't even know this was a "thing" until I started experiencing my sweet baby boy morphing into an inconsolable ball of tears and sulking because I'm not interested in what he has to say when I've told him three times to go and brush his teeth already.  It doesn't even have to be that!  I could look at him funny, and he'll burst into tears.

Over virtually nothing.

Why don't parenting books warn you about this crap??  I mean it seems a pretty significant chapter to sort of, oh I don't know, leave out altogether?!?!

Lately, nothing his little brother does is right.  He doesn't even BREATHE right, for Pete's sake!  Poor kid.  His big bro seems to get irritated by the slightest thing he does anymore, and when that happens, y'all better watch out!  He's fixing to unleash some delusional sass that's going to get his backside wore out!

OK.  *deep breath*  Reeling in my southern charm here a little.  I'm not really going to whoop his behind for being an emotional mess, but it does leave me looking at him with my head cocked to the side on the odd occasion.

Huh??  What??  Why are you crying now???

I kind of expected this from girls.  I was a preteen girl once, albeit a long, long time ago, and I'm sure the emotional outbursts drove my own parents up the wall.  But boys??

So we're going to have to see what this middle school gig brings our way.  I'm looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.  Along with the hormones, we're going to have to contend with the drama that the girls he does go to school with dish out.

Our baby boy is growing up!  Seems like just a few short months ago that we brought his squirming little seven-pounds-and-change self home from the hospital.  *sniff*  Geez.

Not sure I'm ready for this... !!!