I  have always been great with children of all ages. I have managed to raise three children,I survived every developing stage, the baby, the toddler, the preschooler, but right now I am faced with my biggest fear!! The teenage stage, which I like to call the "teenage virus". This is where mom is only needed to a certain extent, perhaps to sign paperwork because they are still under age. This morning as I dropped off my freshman, 14 year old young man, I realized that my home had officially been infected by this "teenage virus". I knew this was coming, but nobody tells you that once day you wake up and it is here. I have feared this day since the day he was born.
     
      Everything has changed in a few months. Before my son left to Arizona for the summer he was still my baby, the kid that still needed me to wake him up for school every morning. He came back with the "teenage virus", I am having a difficult time adapting to this new stage in his life. Dating, dances, new friends, new style, and many  more changes that are happening before my eyes. One day mom is awesome, and the next mom has no "swag", yet I know my teenager still loves me. I understand the adolescent years they seek their friends more than their parents. It is when they are finding themselves,and are transitioning from children to adults.
 
      As parents we adapt to the different stages of the growth development of our children. We are faced with potty training, which in my opinion was very difficult. Another one is when children begin school, there is always the fear of how will they behave away from home. Yet from what I have heard from other parents the adolescent years are by far the most complicated years. I was a teenager once I know what to expect with my teenager, the only thing I can do is take it a day at a time. I will learn to grow, and develop along with him. Yet as a mom, he will always be my baby.