chesterI commend any and all mothers who have survived a summer with two or more teenagers in the house. You should all be given golden awards for your effort. I on the other hand pray that I make it through each day with my sanity.

When I was a teenager I was never bored. I always managed to keep myself busy doing things throughout the day, and never went to my mom and whined, "Mom I'm so bored!!!!"

Kids today have it so easy. They have unlimited resources such as computers, satellite TV, and Play Stations, and yet they still seem not to be able to keep themselves from being bored. And with my kids I could give them the moon and they still would not be content. I love my kids dearly but I have a quote that I have used very often. They will come to me and say, "Mom do you love me?" And I will answer, "Oh yes honey with all my heart, but I love you a lot more when you are in school."

My daughter is a classic example of the bored teenager. She is fourteen years old and there have been numerous times that she will come to me and say, "Mom I am so bored. Tell me something that I can do." I respond with ideas such as cleaning her room, helping me dust the house or sweep and mop, and her response is, "No mom I don't want to do that." She is continuously asking if a friend can spend the night and I almost always agree if they want to, thinking well this will keep her busy so she won't get bored.

WRONG!! Then she comes and says, "Mom WE'RE bored what can WE do?" And my response is, "Play your Wii, or get on line, go swimming in the pool, watch a movie on TV." And the response is frequently, "No mom. We did that already and now we are bored."

It always amazes me how quickly my kids can get bored. They can be out of the bed no longer than an hour and they are already complaining. What is a mother to do? I once watched a sitcom on television about this town that was getting ready to go back to school after the summer break, the kids were just so not wanting to go and were in very bad moods, and yet the parents were as cheerful as they can be, hurrying their kids out the door so they wouldn't miss the school bus. Then once the kids were on the bus and it was out of sight, the parents starting cheering, balloons seemed to magically fall from the sky and they all seemed to somehow have a cup of wine, drinking in celebration of another school year.

Yes, I count the days till school starts back and can imagine how peaceful it will be around the house for eight hours a day, five days a week. I dream of how much housework I can get accomplished and actually get to enjoy for a few hours before the kids return home and mess everything back up. But you know I would not trade my kids for anything in the world because I love them so much.

But, as I said, I love them a lot more when they are in school.

Copyright 2010 Anne Chester