I do not look back on my teenage years with much affection :'(
The early teens were blighted by the agonising arrival of periods, hideous metal braces on my teeth that prevented me eating due to the pain, friendship issues that would take forever to write about. Going to my 20 year school reunion this year was hugely cathartic.
My late teens were very happy. I loved college and then university. I had my belly button pierced. I had confidence which I haven’t seen again until the last year!
To be perfectly honest I am dreading the onslaught of hormones arriving in our family. I have carefully timed the gap between Matthew and Anya to ensure they are both hitting puberty at the same time (assuming boys are a bit late and girls start early…)
My sister and I got on well until we were both in our teens and then we began bickering CONSTANTLY. On one awful occasion we were on holiday and we’d been so horrible to each other that my mum burst into tears and ran out of the restaurant with my dad rushing after her to make sure she was ok. We felt terrible but I don’t think it stopped us for long 🙁
Looking at my children – who adore each other at the moment – I really hope that they manage to negotiate their teens better than I did. Fingers crossed…
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