..........

I'll see your 16 year old son and raise you another son, this one 14.

I am in testosterone hell.

I put my foot down when we adopted the cat, it was a girl or bust!

:p

Ok..I'll see your 16 year old, raise your 14 year old and raise you another 15 year old in 1 week.
but..I have 4 boys and 1 girl and I would take another 4 boys to her.
My poor Mother. :eek:
:D

I'll take all your boys in exchange for my 15 year old daughter. I'll also concede that Silver's the best color. :D

I'll take all your boys in exchange for my 15 year old daughter. I'll also concede that Silver's the best color. :D
Does that mean you're not coming??? :(

Jury's still out, I haven't heard from my buddy yet. I'll let you know by 10/17.

Kids are evil...

We do'nt have kids yet. We want them, but just not yet. I'm not mature enough for them. We want 3 kids eventually, but not now. I still have to buy MY toys first. :)

But, lately, I've been hearing horror stories from a co-worker of mine. He has three daughter, 21, 19, and 16. Apparantly his 21 yo is a real problem child. He's constantly driving up to college on weekends and middle of night to solve her "issues". Hearing those stories make me thing "kids are really evil, was *I* like that?"

They're nice and cuddly when there little, but there aught to be some sort of program to trade them in a little later on..... after the new wears off and they learn to talk :p

Only have one, a son (21), now in the Navy and working for NSA (National Security Agency) and to be truthful, I would give up my Ridgeline in a heartbeat for him...Sorry, no trades!!! :) Good news is that he is also looking at tradeing in his truck (2000 Ford Ranger 4X4) for a Honda Ridgeline.

To everyone who posted on this thread so far...Hold onto your a#*. 14 & 15 year olds turn into 17 year olds and it is WAY worse. Sorry to say you are just getting a taste of things to come. Mine are 23 & 24 now so you just keep telling your self "I will survive...I will survive".

To everyone who posted on this thread so far...Hold onto your a#*. 14 & 15 year olds turn into 17 year olds and it is WAY worse. Sorry to say you are just getting a taste of things to come. Mine are 23 & 24 now so you just keep telling your self "I will survive...I will survive".

Gee, thanks Steve! Where's the hemlock? LOL My oldest is turning 17 at Christmas and can't wait to be emancipated. I told him the other night that I was just doing my best to hang on through this "phase" he was going through much like when he was two and wouldn't wear a diaper (had to duct tape that sucker on); he just looked at me funny and walked away. LOL!

And Nicholas, of course we love our kids, I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. Especially now that they are potty trained and can go to the store for me! ;)

You can get yours to actually go to the store for you??? Damn, where did I go wrong ...lol. Mine comes home just to see his girlfriend ... oh to be young and in love again!!! :rolleyes:

Been married five years. When we got married my wifes son was 11. Before that I'd never had kids, only dogs. Dogs are much easier....and rewarding.

Think I'm kidding? Not me. I love my wife but anguish over my step-father/step-son relationship. I guess it's not just that, but the fact that my wife doesn't fully support my fathering techniques. I'm always the 'bad guy' and feel like I'm going to go mental. I was warned that when a guy gets into a family as a step-parent, he will always be the bottom of the ladder. I see that now and would warn anybody the same. A couple of people at my work are going through exactly the same thing too. Life is tough.

My step-son is almost 17. Fun? No. Rewarding? Never. Would I do it again? Not in a million years.

Well, my boys are now 7 & 5 - what great ages!!!!

Prior to having kids, I was teaching freshman science at a local high school. Taught 9th graders for 6 years. The 7th year, I switched to teaching physics to seniors. BAM! Wife got pregnant.

Moral of the story? Teaching 9th graders was the best birth control in the world...

(at that HS, the joke was: what is the best thing about a 9th grader? In another year, they'll be a sophomore!)

-ridgeln

basils, I wish that there was an easy answer. Unfortunately you are not alone. There is always hope that at some point he will grow up and mature to the point that he will recognize that you are the person that he should have listened to and learned from when he needed it the most. When that time comes, it will all have been worth it.
Try suggesting that he NOT enlist in the USMC, maybe because he can't handle it. If he then does enlist I bet that within the first year there will come home a new person with a load of maturity, responsibility and respect for himself, for others - and for you.
I may be making assumptions here about situations that I know nothing about. My intentions are good, no offense intended. I wish you and yours the best.

You must be in for the long haul, after they leave home it does not get any better. You must be able to transition from father figure to banker. Been there:rolleyes:

I have four daughters, and three grandsons. Watching them grow are the diamonds of my life, for better or for worse till death............:)

It gets easier, then worse, then easier then worse and over and over and over again. :D
My oldest son is 33, then a son 30, then a son 26, then a daughter 21 and then Drew will be 15 on Wednesday.
Great kids, all of them. :D

Hmmmm.....well, our 19 year old son has been a pleasure I must say. Since he was five he has been the model of responsibility. At five years old he was getting himself up and off to school on time by himself. He finished high school as General Sterling Scholar with a 4.0 cum GPA. He just recieved an award from the AP society for averaging a score of 4.5 or above on 8 AP exams. He entered college as a Junior. He's now in his first year of actually attending college, and sends his hot little blond girl friend home every night at 10pm so he can get to bed early to be ready for his classes in the morning. He may be a mutant of some kind.

Sorry, I had to post this. :D I tried to stop myself, but couldn't.

Hmmmm.....well, our 19 year old son has been a pleasure I must say. Since he was five he has been the model of responsibility. At five years old he was getting himself up and off to school on time by himself. He finished high school as General Sterling Scholar with a 4.0 cum GPA. He just recieved an award from the AP society for averaging a score of 4.5 or above on 8 AP exams. He entered college as a Junior. He's now in his first year of actually attending college, and sends his hot little blond girl friend home every night at 10pm so he can get to bed early to be ready for his classes in the morning. He may be a mutant of some kind.

Sorry, I had to post this. :D I tried to stop myself, but couldn't.
WOW....maybe you should clone him.
Great job Dad.

WOW....maybe you should clone him.
Great job Dad.

Actually, I think that's his goal. He's majoring in chemistry/math with an eye towards a phd in biotechnology/genetic engineering. There should be a couple of him running around in about 10 years. :D

Nice work, Ridge! You have every right to be proud. And, Kudos to the schools for making AP available and to the college/university for realizing what a great mind they were getting, even if not for a full 4 (5, 6,...) years.

Having students like your son come through schools makes being a teacher worthwhile (of course, I'm saying to myself: self, what if this model citizen was home schooled?) - you get those kids that come through and say - wow, I hope my own kids grow up as well rounded and motivated as johnny or jane so-and-so.

It is also nice to hear the GOOD THINGS coming out of schools rather than the (highly) biased media hypes of negativity that seem to fester on our airwaves all in the name of ratings.

-ridgeln

Thanks Ridgeln, He far surpassed any help I could give him in academics a couple of years ago, but I'm the first he enlists for help when a light bulb burns out in his bedroom. I primarily function as concierge and maintenance for him now.