[christie]

As with most things, its two forward and three back.

He did choose a job coach. Yay. I didn't have to have the monster truck run in the front yard. That made Jess happy - she wasn't looking forward to what I would have done to her perfect lawn!

We had some good talks WITH him and I was able to reiterate that this was me saying enough. Setting a boundary with consequences if he continued to be disrespectful and rude to me. I was on the verge of the Mommymelt, but managed to hold it in so that he could see just how emotionally charged I was about this but also that I was not reacting in an inappropriate way.

Was it a perfect weekend? Nope. Was it better than it has been? Yes.

I made a point to grab him and hug him yesterday - for no reason. We were having a good day. He was working on his laundry and had actually listened to Jess suggesting that when he finished his snack, to bring his dish back down to the kitchen and to get the load of clothes out of the dryer. When I went to the mudroom to remind him, he was walking around the corner with an arm full of clothes.

Its progress. Simple things that are often taken for granted by other parents. I felt like throwing a parade. Just to have 12 hours or so where it wasn't angst and tension.

Last night, I went to bed around 8 so I could get up at 2am to make my 4 hr commute, work till dark-thirty and come collapse before I have to be back at the office in the AM. Jess woke me around 11 to inform me that "the boy isnt in his room. He's left." I was ready to just curl under the covers and hope for the best.

I was surprised when I called him that he actually answered the phone. That he actually came home when I, not so June Cleaverly, demanded that he come home now. I went back to bed and Jess went to let him in and deal with it.

Jess was literally still up when I stumbled out of bed at 3am. Bratboy was also still up. I just didnt have it in me to start my 15 hr day with addressing the situation other than to remind him that 6pm on my "school nights" is the latest I wanted him to have company and that he should be in the house by 10. He did apologize and since Jess has had the conversation of. "Do we need to resort to locking deadbolts? Me sleeping downstairs in the guest room when your mom isn't home? What's it gonna take for you to keep yourself at home and not wandering about in the middle of the night?"

I am hopeful that he is just pushing boundaries to see what he can get away with - again, I think some of this is just him reaching certain levels of maturation - he should have been pushing these boundaries a couple of years ago if we look at age-appropriateness. Part of me is SO glad that he is reaching these stages. The rest of me wonders how my folks survived FOUR teenagers. No wonder my mother is medicated; alas, I digress. That's a WHOLE 'nother thread.

Here's hoping that its a good week. Jess could use a break.