[flickr id=”6087274981″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]At first I thought it might be the special needs babies, toddlers, kids…

I thought it might be the mountains of paperwork to deal with it all.

The endless doctor visits, medical terminology, therapists and IEP’s.

No. It’s not going to be any of that.

It’s going to be 1 word.

TEENAGER.

The surly attitude. The lack of common sense. The lack of respect. The lack of hygiene.

In brief shining moments you see the brilliance of his brain. The kindness of his heart.

Covering it all is the teenitude. The fact that we, as his parents, are just the biggest jerks, the meanest people, and so frickin’ annoyingly embarrassing.

According to the Scout leaders they see it all the time…and then there is the “lightbulb moment” when it all clicks and he becomes a human being.

We wait for that day.

Or death.

Whichever comes first.

Right now I’m thinking it will be death.