One day…..

My mama used to tell me “T never lose yourself in the midst of raising kids because one day they will be gone and you will be left picking up the pieces of your emptiness.” I have raised kids for the past 30 years and now there are only two teenagers left at home, and my mother’s words are coming to life. I should have listened but I did not. Today’s teens are so different than they used to be, they have their phones, electronics, and those things become their family, their reason for existence and their parents become lost in the shuffle. There are days like today I am left wondering what I did wrong, or if I should just get a life and stop trying so hard to be the parent they do not want, right now. I do not know how many times I have heard I do not need you all up in my business, or I do not want to talk about it, or not be included in the little things in life. People tell me it is a phase and they will grow out of it, but do they really? I try not to take it personally but some days it is harder than others. If you have teens how do you handle the silence or the time to get a life, or pick up the pieces of the emptiness?