There are times when the boys drive me crazy with their constant bickering or their obstinate "I know better than you" attitude... but then I think back to what I was like as a preteen, and I realize that it's all part of growing up.
The never-ending cycle of grocery shopping, meal preparation, taxiing to and from sports, tidying messes and washing and folding clothes... my mom, dad and grandmother did it for me and my sisters, so now it is my turn. As tiring and tiresome as it seems to me now, I know that, in a few short years from now, I will miss the sight of Lego minifigures in my washer and dryer. And I will miss having boys to cool for and drive places.
(Being a mom is the best job in the world. I just need to keep reminding myself of that.)