Parenting a Middle Schooler

As a side note, I have taken Vikadin (sp?) for my back and am a little loopy, so please forgive any nonsensical errors. Ironic that a post about parenting middle schoolers would start out with being on something. That aside...

he's not exactly a middle schooler yet. But he's close. One of the HUUUUGEEE problems I have with public school is that they expect the children to act like adults, but treat them like children. For example, Justinbustin is being asked to complete a college level report without ANY PREPARATION of how to follow directions to the T. On top of that, he is currently seated separately from his classmates because he was disruptive (read: had a stressful day at home and acted out at the classroom, just like us adults do, unless I'm the only one). He and a few other friends in his class had started a newspaper that his teacher completely encouraged and now has completely dropped the ball on. What message does that send?

In the meantime, I am struggling not to build walls with his spirit, but, dude, to be perfectly honest I don't know if I can handle the gangly, awkward teenage stage. One of the neighbor kids is going through it - last year, he looked like a boy, now he's in this gangly, awkward, hair crazy, gruffy voice, where his body kind of looks like it doesn't all belong together just yet. It is SO AWKWARD and Justinbustin is almost there. The hair totally doesn't help. He wants it long, and this is so so shallow of me, but it drives me CRAZY. He looks unkempt and sully and doesn't keep it brushed half the time. As of now, I told him if I have to remind him to brush it more than five times he's going to have to get a haircut. But DANG. I can't stand the long unkempt hair. He looks adorable when it's much longer, but even then it drives me nuts. I have a hard enough time keeping his attention span when "parenting" that I don't need him having extra hair to brush out of his face so I can see his eyes on top of it all.

I'm realizing absolutely none of this is making sense so I better stop now. Suffice it to say, I had no clue I'd be raising an adult someday and that someday is here. Some days it makes me oh so proud, some days it makes me ask what the hell am I doing, and some days like today it just drives me bonkers.