Both of my 13yo boys have been in tears today. One of them has cried twice.

[Jackie in AR]

They have both begun the process of getting braces and they had spacers put in their mouths yesterday so today they are having trouble eating anything due to the pain/soreness. I'm sure that isn't helping things.

Z knocked two pieces of (brand-new!) crystal off the kitchen cabinet this morning and immediately dissolved into tears as he began to clean up the mess. I assured him that it wasn't a big deal, but he sobbed for quite a while.

R was playing with his pocket knife this afternoon and ended up with a big gash on his thumb that bled quite a bit. He begged me not to take him to get a stitch, so we're waiting until Dad gets home to decide if I'll need to take him in tomorrow.

Also today I realized that R's score on a recent test he took has qualified him to receive a metal at a state award's ceremony. When I told him, he teared up and stated emphatically that he is not going to the ceremony. It just sounds like something "dumb and stupid" to do.

These are normally even-tempered, polite, well-mannered young men.

Their hormones, coupled with the changing hormones of this 46 yo mom, are making things quite interesting around our home these days.

I finally called off school and am allowing them to watch SpiderMan 3 from Netflix.

(Thank goodness their normally rambunctious sisters seem to have taken chill pills today.)

It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right? Right??

[Denise in IN]

Ouch! It sounds like you all need/deserve a break.

I would imagine that the combo of pain and not being able to eat much affects a lot. I hope that things will even out for you when the pain subsides and they can eat well again!

Can't do much about the hormones, though. :o So chocolate is definitely in order.

[Linda in NE]

Jackie:

Patience. Easier said than done, I know. I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to your kids. I got braces on my teeth at the age of 32, and I went home that night and sobbed like a baby for over an hour in my bed with my quilts up over my head. It really hurt like the dickens. I'm not surprised that things around your house are not on an even keel right now. The pain from the braces will subside, at least until their next adjustment, and things will become more routine. In the meantime, you and your kids have my heartfelt sympathy.

[Jackie in AR]

Thank you both. One of their friends has called and they are getting ready to go to a basketball game with him. So they are perking up a little.

Tomorrow is a new day!!

[AndyJoy]

I cut myself with a knife last year and debated getting it stitched. When I went in the next day, the doctor said he wished I had come in that day, because he now couldn't/wouldn't stitch it because it was more than 8 hours old. You might want to consider this.

[Lisa in Jax]

Boys in puberty often lack zinc. Teens in general are low in zinc and GABA (which may explain the irritability and moodiness many teens experience), and boys in particular get low in zinc b/c the process of making semen/sperm requires a LOT of zinc.

A good hypoallergenic vitamin might help a lot.

HIH,

Lisa

[Jackie in AR]

I cut myself with a knife last year and debated getting it stitched. When I went in the next day, the doctor said he wished I had come in that day, because he now couldn't/wouldn't stitch it because it was more than 8 hours old. You might want to consider this.


Thanks for posting, AndyJoy. I didn't realize that stitches had to be put in immediately.

The cut really looked better the next day. We've put a butterfly thingie :) on it and it is healing nicely.

[Jackie in AR]

Boys in puberty often lack zinc. Teens in general are low in zinc and GABA (which may explain the irritability and moodiness many teens experience), and boys in particular get low in zinc b/c the process of making semen/sperm requires a LOT of zinc.

A good hypoallergenic vitamin might help a lot.

HIH,

Lisa

I've been thinking that I needed to get them back on vitamins. I didn't know that about zinc; thanks for posting it.