Dirty Laundry Abnormal Teenage Behavior

If These Heels Could Talk they would say, "why the hell is my 17 year old up at 2:30 a.m. doing laundry?"

Growing up my mother basically taught me how to run a house hold.  She is very old school and therefore taught me that all matters of the house were to be tended to by the ladies of the house. So growing up my mother and I did everything in the house; the cooking, cleaning, laundry and even the yard work. 

I have watched and helped my mom chop wood, build the fire and cook a meal on the wood burning stove that she just started the fire on.  Yes I know that is some Little House on the Prairie crap.  But it is true. 

I never thought that how our house was ran was wrong and I never thought that because my mom and I did all the housework that I was missing out on something or that life wasn't fair.  It was the only way I knew. 

My brothers never had to do laundry until they left home in their late teens, early twenties. And if my mom couldn't do the cooking and cleaning and laundry for my brothers and dad while they were at home, then I was responsible for it.  Again, this really never bothered me, I actually did not mind. I remember being 12 years old standing in a chair at the stove frying cat fish.  Hey that was some good cat fish.

When I left home at 18 to join the Navy and I started to meet people from all over the country it was brought to my attention that not everyone lived the way my family lived.  I was in shock at times.  The first time I heard another woman tell her boyfriend/husband that he could make his own dinner I was appalled.  I thought to myself that is the worse woman I have ever met, what kind of woman would not make her man supper. 

Of course I think at times they thought I was straight up Mayberry. 

Anyway I have come to realize that it would be a huge dis-service to my boys if I didn't teach them how to do some things around the house.  So I have begun to teach them how to do the laundry. Especially my 17 year old.  But I will say that when he does do his own laundry I feel like I am not fulfilling my motherly duties  and that I should be doing his laundry. But I also think that one day he will be gone and I will not be there to do his laundry.  So I let it go. 

The other night I was awaken at 2:30 a.m. to the laundry room door opening and then I hear the dryer door slam.  And I think to myself, that could only be one person.  Part of me smiled and the other part of me was irritated because it was freaking 2:30 IN THE MORNING.  Why the hell is he up at 2:30 a.m. doing laundry and why couldn't he have brought down his laundry when I told him 12 hours earlier? At which point I would have graciously done all of his laundry.   

The thought process of teenagers at times is quiet disturbing.  I said to him the next morning, "could you have picked a more appropriate time to do the laundry?" and his reply was, "Oh I was up playing Xbox and remembered I needed to dry the clothes." 

Well alright then, there you have it.  Maybe not such abnormal behavior after all.  I guess most teenagers are doing laundry at 2:30 a.m. while playing the Xbox.