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Crone Life's avatar

The good thing and the bad thing about parenting adolescents is the same: they can be independent of you. Hope you've been preparing them!

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Crone Life's avatar

Loving all the Epstein/conspiracy explainers but where were they before? I started following the story in 2017-2018 when Julie Brown started her "Perversion of Justice" series in the Miami Herald but I had no real idea that this conspiracy theory existed beyond what you might expect (that it's a story inviting, almost demanding, that type of thinking). And here it's been a basis for MAGA support of Trump all along. Many dingii out there

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Lillian Robinson's avatar

This series ran while Bondi was the FL AG?!?!?!? And now she’s the US AG with her head still in the sand (or somewhere!).

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Crone Life's avatar

If she was the AG in 2018, then yes. Here's a link to The Herald's coverage https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article238237729.html

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Connie C's avatar

You think the teenage years are the “final mode”? Oh my sweet summer child. There is no “final.” It never ends.

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Caroline Smrstik's avatar

This mother of an 18yo “legal adult” 🤣🤣🤣 confirms.

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StellaH's avatar

Having three in their thirties, my dear, it never ends…. You just no longer have control….just the late night worry ringing in your dreams…. I love having grown up kids! They helped lift furniture for me yesterday!!!

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greta's avatar

it absolutely never ends. my daughters are in their late 40s and early 50s. i still worry.

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lyz's avatar

So it’s a joke and Final boss mode is a reference taken from video games ✌️

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Connie C's avatar

Ah, forgive me for not getting the joke. The same age (66) that prompted the comment means I’m out of touch with such things. Daughters are 31 and 35 and they help to keep me un-embarrassing, but not always, ha.

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Beau!'s avatar

It also works as a sincere statement because beating the "final boss" in some of the best video games nowadays is really just the beginning. For example, you don't walk away from Super Mario Odyssey after you beat Bowser, you keep playing because there's so much more to explore and it's fun!

If you are facing the challenges and solving the problems of the game and enjoying all the many fun moments of working through it, you will want to keep playing after the "final boss" and you will be rewarded for it.

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Laura Belin's avatar

I hate the way our society talks about teenagers. They are not all “difficult” and many people find that phase easier than parenting young kids.

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Avraham Bronstein's avatar

"tweedledingus and tweedledumb"

!!!

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Avraham Bronstein's avatar

Dingii are like the Sith; there are always two, the master and the student.

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Beau!'s avatar

I just wish it were tweedledumbass, for selfish alliterative reasons.

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DBG's avatar

Agreed. I filled "...ass" in as I read it.

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Beau!'s avatar
5dEdited

There are a lot of valid reasons for people who supported and voted for Trump to be turning on him, but I think the Epstein Files thing is an issue that they feel they can use as cover to finally voice their discontent. I'm not sure it will change the course we're on, but it is nice to see more skeptics out there even if I don't agree with them on most anything.

I am also thinking and praying for a day soon when I can cue up my playlist with Beautiful Day by U2 and Bye Bye Bye by NSync on it.

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greta's avatar

from your mouth to the ears of the goddess!

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Kristin's avatar

That’s a really interesting way to look at it. Now they can pretend they weren’t scammed by an obvious conman.

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Sara Petersen's avatar

PATTY GRIFFIN!!!

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Carla's avatar
5dEdited

At the top is my all time favorite meme with the lawn mower kid, at the end is great news about Patti. Thanks for helping us laugh during such a stupid time.

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

My son is now 47. If you have a boy you should note that you once sweet little man suddenly has strong muscles, and has real male anger. i say this about my own boy - now a successful adult, volunteers on weekends and is liked by his family and friends. But at some point maybe at 16, the tone became mascuiine and his need to be in charge of his life had an entirely different quality from his childhood.

For my wife especially this was upsetting. Even if my son never had any major mishaps. No angy fathers ever came to our door and so on.

I onty had one - much easier. my brother had 3, sister also had 3. Lot's of moods to juggle with lots of kids.

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Truckeeman's avatar

Excellent comment. Read "Iron John" by Robert Bly re: adolescent boys and anger.

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

When he was 20 my son did something stupid - touched a switch in his car and disabled it. We needed towing and had to have the dealer reverse. He was so angry at himself that he kicked the car and put a permanent though small dent in one door. He was overall a good kid and a great man - but male anger is real.

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Truckeeman's avatar

Oh, we could swap stories, Terry. Alcohol makes it worse......so it is well worth having early and often conversations about the effects of alcohol on brain health in developing brains.

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Terry Mc Kenna's avatar

I am very lucky that my son was exceptionally orderly. No wild parties - a bit shy. He also took lessons from mine and my wifes relative poverty when he was a boy. I had lousy jobs till he was age 10. Better over time. but he is like a child of immigrants, so thrifty and risk averse.

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Toni McLellan's avatar

Teenagers are awesome! I am not a fan of dunking on fellow parents with "just you wait" warnings. Every phase has something great about it, along with hardships.

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Karen's avatar

I feel exactly the same way. I wish people would just STOP the warnings! From the time I told my legal assistant that I was pregnant with my first kid and she responded by telling me about how each of her three pregnancies nearly killed her, with details about post C-section hemorrhages through 30-year-old boomerangs coming home unemployed, I am sick to my eyeballs of this shit. STOP IT!!!

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Galen Guffy's avatar

Actually I really appreciated all the advice. Some of it was warnings and I’m glad I got those. I felt and feel more prepared.

Now that I am the parent of a teenager I will refrain from any warnings other than, “whatever you do, don’t take it personally.”😉😘

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Beau!'s avatar

Every "just you wait" is a confession more so than a warning.

Parenting kids is challenging at every age, but honestly the hardest part is supporting my kids through things that I wasn't supported through. Showing up for them in ways I wasn't shown up for. There's nothing like helping a mini-doppleganger of yourself go through a thing and having it send you into a little spiral of realization/sadness.

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Galen Guffy's avatar

This resonates. I think my biggest error as a parent was overcompensating too far in the other direction from my own rearing. I was just trying so hard to make a different life for my kid than the one I had as a child, I think I didn’t realize that some of the stuff I dealt with as a kid created a certain amount of resilience in me that I’m super grateful for now and I am wishing I could somehow plant some of that in my teenager. But I think they are going to have to go through some hard stuff to get there. It needs to come from inside them and not me.

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DBG's avatar

The older my son is, the more I like him...and the more he acts like me or his dad, which is hilarious. We vacation often with our co-year-old son and love it!

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Truckeeman's avatar

Epstein's victim fund paid out $125M to about 150 people (there were 225 claims). Apparently, no men besides Epstein (and Prince Andrew) were involved. IOKIYAR. Let's hope this one sticks to Trump and MAGA realizes they've been duped for years.

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Callie Palmer's avatar

I think the funniest thing about the Epstein files I saw this week was a list of names from Welcome Back Kotter.

I just read Stacey Patton's latest substack titled "What Are We Paying Taxes For" and this dingus affirms her thesis.

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Asha Sanaker's avatar

I mean, I wouldn't say parenting teenagers is *great*, except when it is. When they are funny and insightful, and they drive themselves places, teach *you* how to do stuff, and sometimes (sometimes!) do stuff that's helpful without even being asked. And, yes, there are also so many big emotions and friend angst and romantic angst, they rarely want to hang out anymore, and they immediately respond with a no to every single thing you suggest, like refusal is their job. They are maddening and gorgeous, and, still, I ADORE THEM.

Happy belated birthing day, mama!

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greta's avatar

completely agree, asha. i loved the teen years with my girls.

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Gabs R's avatar

My mom always says that she loved parenting teens for these exact reasons.

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Bradford Lewis's avatar

Now I want a hotdog.

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Elizabeth  Sweeney's avatar

Spot on. You explained the mayhem around the files better than anyone

And love that child. Those children. They are marvelous gifts that make us very humble. I have two daughters 29 and 31. I’m still parenting and they still nod at their mother and don’t follow my advice! I did my job right. Independent thinkers!

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