the last line of the article sums it up nicely. it’s an ongoing journey and as my own son enters full-on puberty, there’s the added complexity of hormone’s and even more societal expectations. And it is exhausting, no matter how diligent, or how much you love your child; and so you find solace in the moments such as the kindness of child who thinks your child’s quirks are just that, quirks. Or the person in the parking lot who doesn’t honk their horn as they wait and wait for your spot as you struggle with your child and getting their backpack in at just the right angle or when said child lays their head on your shoulder at the end of the day and says “love you” before scampering off with the dog towards their room.
Yup, he’s exactly the way he’s supposed to be.
is me is really me 
Perfect.
When you find yourself arguing with your kids and not understanding how they can be so upset, and later that night at a neighborhood gathering, your neighbors say how polite and well mannered your hild is, and you look at them with a strange glance – my kid is a monster at home because daughter or son knows they are always safe to be as wild as they want, because I will keep them safe, always!
exactly. my oldest was awarded a national award last month; people from all over the country were congratulating her and then telling me how deserving she is, the work she’s done etc. I’m not kidding, I just numbly nodded and said thank you because the entire time I’m thinking “they don’t *LIVE* with this 17-year old” and it is because at home, with us, she can be herself. Her sullen, teenage, stubborn, self 😉
It’s hard to let them learn on their own and teach them all at the same time, isn’t it?
It is. Yes. It is.