Consensus of opinion

It seems as though there is no consensus of opinion as to whether I should be waking up my teenagers in the morning.

It does seem that most of us were woken up by our parents, until we were away from home and had to get up on our own.

My mother called to remind me that she also had to wake ME up!

So I guess big brother gets my vote for the best answer:
As long as these kids are in my house, they are my responsibility.

My angel neighbor who I look to for so many things, including child-raising help (she has 7 children – the oldest is 22, who just had his first child, her youngest is 6), made an insightful comment today. She remarked that when kids are young they get up at ridiculous hours of the morning, ready to start their day with a smile. But as soon as they turn Bar or Bat Mitzvah, or the age that they know they have to accept responsibility upon themselves, they no longer can wake up in the morning. Our Yeytzer Hora (loosely translated as “evil inclination”) kicks in and suddenly plays the you-don’t-have-to-do-anything-you-don’t-want-to game.

This has been a bit of a stressful Shabbat. Too many kids in the house, maybe? Distinct differences in lifestyles and religious belief? Who knows.

Busy, busy week. I hope a productive one!

More responsibility.