#ILOVEYOUWITHALLMYHEARTANDITHINKYOU'REDOINGAGREATJOBBUTCOULDIJUSTHAVEAHUG?

Communicating with teenagers is not for the faint of heart.  Or quitters.  Or anyone who may be experiencing any kind of hormonal imbalance.  Teens can type 1,000,000,000,000 words per minute.  And they are able to carry on multiple friend conversations simultaneously all within different mediums.  One second they're texting a paragraph to a friend about boyfriends or the trig homework, then they're snapping a photo of themselves sitting on the couch eating crackers to share with another lucky someone, all while adding filters and hashtags to an Instagram shot of them in 5th grade for Throwback Thursday.  Sorry, #TBT.  It's mind-boggling.

But it's nowhere near as mind boggling as the experience of attempting to communicate with these constantly connected beings and receiving only one word responses.  How is it possible that when I text two, well-crafted sentences that aren't overly nosey or too affectionate (but still cheerfully express love through punctuation and a clever use of emoticons) - a message that also is worded in such a way as to naturally lead to a poly-syllabic answer - and I get a 'Nope'?  How does that happen?

I understand that one word texting answers is small potatoes compared to some issues other parents face - my heart goes out to anyone dealing with serious challenges.  But for me, this current level of interaction (while totally normal) is a little disappointing.  Sometimes, when I'm attempting teen connection, I feel like Jane Goodall easing her way into a family of chimps .  I wait and observe at a safe distance then slowly move closer in an unobtrusive way and, if I'm lucky, we sometimes share a banana or engage in a moment of social grooming.  Ah, sweet victory.

So, I'm just going to keep on keeping on - sending love while still being a grown-up.  And I'll cling to any spontaneous moment of conversation (which, by definition requires an actual rally of back and forth comments).  If the kids happen to come home and I'm in the kitchen making a delicious tray of irresistible nachos, no one should immediately label it a trap.  Sometimes I'm just hungry.

I'm wearing this:

I must say, it's getting harder and harder to feel psyched about scarves and sweaters.  But, it's -5 degrees right now.  There are no other options.

gratitude:  the heater in our bathroom, large paper clips, core workouts, yoga bricks

thanks and love.