When they were little I them figured out. .. My oldest son picked at his food and couldn't slow down long enough to take the time to eat but my youngest would sit in his highchair and play with food and have a great time eating.  As they grew I would channeled their energy into little jobs in the kitchen. ​

Baby you can drive my car
Yes I'm gonna be a star
Baby you can drive my car
And maybe I'll love you
Beep beep'm beep beep yeah - Beatles

No Bs no Keys! yes i said NO Bs NO KEYS... that doesn't mean you tried to get good grades that means when I look at School Loop (School Progress report App) it shows nothing lower than Bs for each subject. Here we go with teen number 2....

I'm happy to say everything has gone well. After 4 months away, we had one long phone call where we patched things up and he asked if he could see family for Thanksgiving! Wait.. I thought, who is this kid, is it the same one who hated to do anything with family?  He's asking for permission to stay here for a week.  Well ok but we have the same ground rules.  He's knows.. it's ok.  
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew he was different. He had been working long days onsite doing HVAC construction, living in hotels working with adults and had no time to make friends.  It was funny to hear a 19 year old say he misses being a kid and hanging with friends and going to the skate park.  He says he still wants to go to college and get his bachelors but we talk about how he can get certifications and learn other ways. I know he misses being with kids his age but I don't think 4 years of academia is his thing.  Maybe a few more months of the real world and he will be ready.  

The best part of him being home for a few days is laughing together, talking about this crazy presidential debate... luckily we are both Trump fans and having some calm time together. He is growing up and I'm so thankful I held my ground when he was here.  He is a good kid, 

Today has been a flash back when my 15 year old was about 5 and I said no more TV today... TV was the best single parent babysitter. When they were babies we would sit on the couch cuddled together in some way and we would watch a movie and sometimes I had a bit of a nap.. It was great!   But turning off the TV always started the begging.. one more mom.. PLLLEEESE..  Nope, it went off and whining would begin.. It took about 2 hours of pouting and "I"m bored" before creativity would kick in.. then out came the thomas the tank engine clicky clack tracks and our little place became grand central station.  Well, fast forward to today, about 10 years later.  When I discovered a 'D' on a Geometry test where no homework was done, and a C- in Chemistry for a missing lab assignment I had to take all the electronics. (A family rule set before school started, a D and you lose your phone until it's corrected) While I only took the iphone away I disabled the wifi on his chromebook and ipad. (mac addresses on the router, super easy)  The begging began in a much more teenager way..