So True

Boston's teacher sent this to me and I have found it to be very true.

Dear Parents,

WARNING WARNING WARNING DANGER DANGER DANGER

Adolescence is upon you! In all my years of teaching sixth grade (23) it has never failed: puberty and full blown adolescence have flooded the collective hormone pool within a week of Valentine's Day. Some years I have literally said good-bye on a Friday in mid-February to a group of pleasant, compliant children only to be stampeded by a bunch of raving adolescents on Monday.

If you are suddenly living with a 12- or 13-year-old stranger who is moody, mouthy, and constantly vacillating between giddiness and misery...welcome to the club. The Parents-of-an-Adolescent Club, that is. What you and your stranger child are experiencing may be baffling, but it is perfectly normal. Be patient. Be brave. Take lots of deep breaths. Lock yourself in your room periodically. Understand that it will only get worse before it gets better.

Be prepared to find out that instead of being the world's smartest person, you will shortly become the world's dumbest. Completion of that transformation will be clearly communicated to you via deep sighs and disgusted eye rolls. Some of you may regain some modicum of intelligence when your child reaches his/her early 20's. For others, you may remain unbelievably dumb until the birth of your first grandchild. Either way, take comfort in the fact that the parents of all your child's classmates have suddenly become equally clueless.

Learn to love the stranger in your midst. Try to remember that the confusion and bewilderment you are feeling are amplified 1000 times inside that hormonal little body. Offer lots of hugs (never in public). Practice smiling, nodding, and listening.

There's no point in talking because you'll just sound dumb.

Good luck.