My Single Mom Life

It was a long terrible weekend here at casa Cooper.
I woke up on Saturday morning with a fever of 103, I was feeling absolutely miserable and things just got worse.
Teenagers suck the very life right out of you man.

Sebastian had a friend sleep over on Friday night, on noon Saturday, they went off to play with another friend a few streets away.
Around 5pm, I get a call from that kids mother that the boys got into a fight and Sebastian had threatened to come back home and throw out all of the kids things.
Sebastian came home, started yelling and screaming about the fight, I told him to go back to the kid and sincerely apologize.
Instead of doing that, he went up there and said, "I'm sorry I guess, but let me tell you my side."
That's not a sincere apology, that's being disrespectful and also disobedient.
So I grounded him for his disobedience.

Things simply escalated from there.
The yelling got worse, things were said, it was complete chaos here for hours and hours.
Finally, around 9pm, Sebastian left the house with no shoes and no jacket, it was cold out, and he went to another friends house.
That kid's father called me, said my son was there, they saw him standing in their yard just crying and shivering, so they let him in.
Sebastian begged them to not call me, but the dad said if it was his kids, he hoped that another parent would call anyway.
I agreed and explained what had happened.
He said he'd bring Sebastian home in a few hours, it was far too cold and too dark for him to walk back home.
I can hear this father's kid in the background spouting off, and the father yelled that if he ever puled this stunt, he'd kick his ass.

So Sebastian comes back home around midnight, he's still yelling and screaming, we go another few rounds, it's awful, I'm just not getting through to him about respect, obedience, greatful, thankful, he just doesn't get it.
Mark is upset because I'm upset, he tries talking to Sebastian, doesn't get anywhere with him either.

Sunday morning I wake up and take away all the video games and disconnect the internet from their room.
I decide to teach them about respect, about being greatful for what they have.
No, we aren't rich, but they have a lot more than they should have, they get a lot of things, I never go to a store without buying them something, yet I rarely ever hear a thank you uttered.
Their rooms are a disaster, they don't do their chores the first time they are asked, so I tell them that today this house will be cleaned top to bottom by them and them alone, it will be done to my satisfaction, they will learn to respect what they have, what they get, and the home we live in if it kills me.

They clean everything, they spend hours upon hours cleaning it all up, taking care to put items on shelves, folding their clothes, doing all of the things they should have been doing all along.

Anyway, almost the entire weekend was spent arguing and fighting, and cleaning, and telling them about being respectful and greatful, and I don't know if it sunk in or not, I just don't know, but I tried, I'm trying.
And I still feel like shit.
I'm behind in my work, I still have a screaming migraine, and I'm still doing everything else that I always do for everyone else.

I apologize for not being around, or being short in my replies, but I was dealing with home life and that takes a front seat to everything and everyone else.