What Does He Hear?

This post has no real point other than to wonder aloud at what my kids hear when my mouth is moving. Believe me they all do this, but today I'm focusing on my 16 year old son. For those of you that have a teenage boy, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm not sure what is going on in his mind, but he CANNOT remember to put his things away to save his life. Sometimes, I get to thinking that it must be my fault, but then I experience that blessed moment when another mom of a teen quietly admits that her son does this, too.


There are moments in parenting when you can either rant and rage, or you can laugh and blog about it! Today I'm going to show you some pictures and imagine what the thought process might have been behind these decisions.

Exhibit A: dirty t-shirt tossed on the kitchen floor


Hmmm. Mom is nagging me again to get my dirty shirt off the dining room table. What does she expect me to do with it?!? Oh, I'm so hungry. Got to get to the kitchen. What's this shirt doing in my hand? Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to put it away. Could put it in my dresser, but really what purpose do dressers serve? Plus, it's all the way upstairs and I might want to wear it later. Aaah, a corner of the kitchen floor! That's the perfect place! Why don't we just keep all our clothes in a pile by the door and we can grab them on the way out?!? Genius! Mom is going to love this idea!

Exhibit B: school papers laying on the floor


What did Mom say to do again? Oh, yeah. Clean out my backpack. (Sigh of dread). Hmmm, I took all the papers out, but now what should I do with them? She only said to take the papers out of the backpack. She never said to throw them away. I mean I'd have to walk all the way into the next room to put them in the trash, or I could just throw them here on the floor. If it was up to me, I'd totally just throw everything on the floor. I did what she asked and if she wanted the papers in the garbage can, she should have said something. I'm going with my leave it all on the floor idea!

Exhibit C: water bottle perched on top of the van


That was a great bike ride! I'm awesome! So thirsty. Water bottle. Hmmm, I think I may have heard Mom harping on putting my water bottle away when I'm done. Always nagging! Okay fine, but where? Surely she doesn't mean to bring it in the house with me and lay it in the sink. That wouldn't make any sense. Let's see...top of the van! That's genius! Why hasn't mom thought of this? I mean if we just put all our dirty dishes on top of the car, then the rain can wash them and they'll air dry while we drive around town. I should be on Shark Tank!

Yep, I can hear Mom talking, but I have no idea what she's saying...


47 comments:

  1. Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home

    Oh. my. gosh. This post is crazy funny . . . Love your narratives!
    I need to share this with my husband and friends! Good stuff, Marie ;0)
    Have a great day,
    Suzanne

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  2. LOL! I often wonder about the thought process of my almost six year old. Good to know I will still be wondering when he is 16. Hats off to you, mom of a teenager. This is great.

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    1. Thanks, Leilani! What they're thinking is a mystery! :)

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  3. This is the 16 year old's father who can corroborate this story. To add on, tonight he takes the clean hand towel that hangs on the oven for hand drying and throws it on the floor to dry up some spilled water. In doing so, he uses his dirty foot to move the towel around (instead of taking the effort to reach down and use the tools God gave him - his hands). Here's where it gets better - he then picks up the towel and puts it back on the oven so others can use it later to dry off their clean hands on. This all happened while he knew I was watching. What does he do that we don't know about because we don't see it? Scary.

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  4. This cracks me up - how did you get into the teenager's brain? I wrote a very similar post today about the messes that go on at my house - we're totally on the same wavelength!

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    1. I guess teenage boys must be pretty much the same everywhere you go! That brings me comfort! :)

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  5. Hilarious and spot on! My ten year old son already uses the word 'oblivious' in his vocabulary because he's heard me say it so often. How can the people living in my family not see the same things that I see that are so plain to me? "Please pick up your dirty socks that are laying in the living room."... "Where, Mom, I don't see any socks."... "They are right there, laying by the brown chair!"

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    1. It starts early and never ends! Vision and hearing are fine, but they still can't see what to clean up or hear our directions! :)

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  6. I'm feeling your pain. We're only 1 1/2 weeks into summer and I'm about to lay down the law around here! I'm worn out from coming along behind them! Love this, Marie!

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    1. Thanks, Joni! Glad to hear another mother is getting worn out by all the summer clean up! :)

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  7. Oh, trust me, it is ALL 16 year old boys... I share a bathroom with mine and for the 5th time this week, I have asked him to pick up his dirty underwear up off the bathroom floor. He picks them up, but then leaves them there again the next morning. What's up with that??!! He can remember four thousand different tunes for marching band, but can't remember that his underwear does not belong on the bathroom floor? I think he believes that if he leaves them behind the door, they'll just be invisible to me. And the empty Gatorade bottles that get left next to the kitchen sink? Seriously - the recycling bin is in the cabinet right under the sink, a mere 12 inches away! "Oh, the energy I would have to expend to bend over and open the cabinet" - that has to be what he's thinking! Man, parents just don't understand...

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    1. That's funny, Marie! Glad I'm not the only one dealing with these kinds of things. It definitely helps to laugh about it together. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  8. It's not just teen boys who do this! My daughters are 19 now & just as bad. Having both of them home from university is a nightmare. Sophia's bedroom carpet is covered in a sea of discarded belongings & it's as though she's desperate to take over the rest of the house as well! Ug!!!

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    1. I guess the messes never end! They'll probably all be very neat in their own homes though!

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  9. This is hysterical, I laughed out loud! My oldest is nearly eight and already does this. He really doesn't listen to a word I say... :)

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  10. So funny! My girls are 3 & 5...I'm a bit scared for the time when I have two teenage girls ;)

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    1. I think my daughter started getting pretty messy in middle school. Definitely not just a boy thing! :)

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  11. haha! I have a ten month old boy and looks like I have a lot to look forward to!

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    1. How sweet! I miss the days when they were excited to "help" clean up! :)

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  12. Yes. I have a couple of similar posts. Moms vs. kids: It's all a matter of what you hear. They DEFINITELY don't hear what is coming out of my mouth. The most recent excuse from the 5 year old is, "I got distracted." UGh.

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  13. Too funny! I don't have a teenage boy (well not yet) but I do recognize the same things in the teenage boys that I've known and know right now. Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesday! We love having you! :)

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    1. Thanks, Natasha! Yours will be there before you know it! :)

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  14. My boy is like that already and he's only five. No hope for me then!

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  15. I clicked on your post hoping to find some kind of answer for that question! I was looking for help! :)
    Ditto, Ditto, Ditto…After 7 sons, I have come to this conclusion: they just are not wired the way moms are. I can "sense" that I've left something undone - sometimes I totally forget what that is, but I don't "forget" that I dropped something on the floor, or left the drawer standing open, or turned the light on. My thought pattern: Button things up. A boy's thought pattern: I'm comfortable. Is there a problem?
    That being said, I love, love, love my boys (and my little girl who seems to be learning all their habits). One day they will all be gone and I just might have a clean house. I'll miss it, I'm sure!
    Thanks for such a great post! :)

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    1. Seven sons! Wow! You definitely have an inside scoop on what boys are thinking. :) I love it when you say they're comfortable. That's so true! I love the easygoing nature of boys!

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  16. Hahaha Brilliant post. You had me in stitches. I love the narrating! I may not have teenagers yet, and a long way from it thankfully. hahahah But I had six older brothers. I can tell you it's a BOY THING not a not hearing mom thing or maybe both. I have learned from the many years of living with all my brothers that BOYS are dirty, BOYS leave EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE, BOYS have selective hearing, BOYS nod their head but their minds are elsewhere, BOYS say they will do something and intend to but BOYS forget easily. My momma used to put the trash on top of my brother's school bag so he had to take the trash out before school as that was his chore. He used to pick it up grab his bag and leave the bag and forget to take it with him. Mom used to shout, and he would shrug I forgot! hahahaha I can foresee Buba will be this very way too! lol Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. Loved it. #sharewithme

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    1. That's so funny about the garbage! I can definitely see something like that happening here. Your family growing up sounds like it was very busy and a lot of fun! :)

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  17. Never BEEN a sixteen year old boy, but had 3 of them. Yes I am pretty sure that's what they are thinking!

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    1. Sounds like you've had experience with this many times! Always glad to know I'm not alone! :)

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  18. Ha ha! Hilarious! Is it bad though if I still leave my stuff all over the place, and I'm now a 20 something old mother to one? Someday I'll be neater...I love your captions. :)

    I found you through the BeYouTiful link up.

    Jess
    CheapSkateBeautyBlogger.blogspot.com

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    1. I think it's okay because you know you're the one who will be cleaning it up! :)

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  19. Very funny! I have toddlers and I feel the same way. I guess it doesn't get neater until they leave for college. haha
    Cheers,
    Shana from Technotini

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    1. You're right, I think the mess is here to stay! ;)

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  20. Have you been hanging out at my house??? =) Great post and so true!

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    1. Thanks, Hillary! Good to know you've got this kind of thing going on at your house, too!

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  21. I have a teenage boy, and this could have been written about him. So funny! Thanks for linking up to the Be.YOU.Tiful link party!

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  22. Hi Marie - My personal favorite at our home... how all of the dirty clothes end up on the floor immediately next to the hamper. Really? Thanks for the chuckles today! Hugs, Holly

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  23. Can't wait. Oh my goodness. You're telling me they don't so much grow out of this as eventually leave home?

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    1. I don't know yet if they grow out of it, but I fully expect them to still be doing this until they leave home! :) I would imagine having their own place will make them want to be a bit cleaner!

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  24. Your post did make me laugh as I can so relate to it, I have a son of 17 and a daughter of 14 and it is actually my daughter who is the most untidy...That does not for one moment mean that my son is tidy!

    Sometimes I just look around the house and it looks like a mini tornado has past through it! It's nice to know that it is not only my two who are so untidy.

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  25. Ha ha! I LOVED this! I loved your "perspective" of what he's thinking - too funny.

    Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).

    Wishing you a lovely weekend.
    xoxo

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