Your life is different, but I do understand.

My life is different, but I do understand...

Oh beloved teenager, as we sit on my bed after another teen years mother-daughter quarrel that in the end we will never really remember the reason why we argued you spoke a sentence that struck a chord, it struck a chord because I remember saying it to my own mother, "My life is so much different than yours, you will never understand."

Yes, your life is different than mine, but not quite that much. I know we've moved you around a lot showing you the world. We have done this because it was a dream of ours to make you a citizen of the world. Let you experience as many different culture as possible. Growing up my life was great, but I always craved more. So, yes, your life is different but I do understand.

I know school is hard. Believe it or not I was there once upon a time as well. I know you have PSAT, Personal Project, eAssessments, plus all your regular work...but guess what when I was in high school we had all the same things, they were just spaced differently, graded differently. So, your life is different, but I do understand.

I know you have a lot on your plate this year and my immature jokes are annoying, but I only want to make you feel better. I know the kids can be crappy, teachers can be tough, and the workload may seem unbearable, but you are smart and organized...just like me, so I know you will get through it. School was the same in America as it is in The Netherlands. So, your life may be different, but I do understand.

So, dear teenager, as I wipe away your tears,that came as a result of my tickle attack to make you smile...know that I attacked my Dad the same way and burst in to tears every time he tried to tickle me to raise my spirits and let me know this isn't the worst day I will ever have. See there, your life is different, but I do understand.

Just know that every test I schedule you to take, every essay I proof read signal the days are winding down of you being a full time resident in our home. So, while you have the stress of completing papers, projects, and studying for impending examinations I do understand because as parents we are deal with the stress of you flying the coop and leaving us with an empty nest. So, right now our lives are very different, but they flow together, and I DO understand.