Thanksgiving and Teenagers

Here's I sit, getting ready for Thanksgiving (and by "getting ready," I mean watching "Friends" on DVD, eating my 2nd Lunchable, and tweaking my blog), I am thinking about what I am thankful for
this holiday season. Some of the things aren't very traditional, but I am thankful for them, nonetheless.

(for quick reference:)
D - 17 yr old autistic son
C- 16 year old son (junior)
A -15 yr old daughter (sophomore)
J - 15 yr old daughter (freshman)

I am thankful that the kids are going to be off of school tomorrow, because their bathroom is really disgusting, and they need to clean it.
I am thankful that for the next three days, I don't have to

Get up at 5:30 am to wake up A, then go back to bed
Get up again at 6 to wake up D and J, and wake C up for what will be the first of three to four more times
Turn on the coffee pot, turn on the radio
Start doing dishes that I left in the sink last night after I was too exhausted from making dinner
Make J's lunch, because she can't be bothered with standing in the lunch line at school, even though all we have is stuff for a PBJ sandwich, and maybe 3 grapes.
Wake up C again, because evidently the first two times were just warning shots
Supervise D, and answer the question of "Where are all of my clothes I put in the washer last night?" To which I reply: "They are still there because you didn't tell anyone that you needed them washed." Dig out a pair of jeans that are only a day old, and start the washer, full of his clothes
Go into C's room and lecture him about the fact that EVERY DAY I have to wake him up 3 or 4 times, and that I'm going to stop doing that (wait..that's what he'd want), and to "GET UP!"! To this, he rolls over and says "Did you wake me up before?"
Help solve A's "issue of the day," usually something that hurts.
Hug J, who has just gotten up and told me she's exhausted (yes, that happens every day), and gently nudge her back into her room to "get freakin' ready," to which she replies "But, I'm soooooo tiredddddd"
See C walking around the house looking for a towel (there are 14 on the floor of his room...from the last 2 days), tell him there are some in his bathroom (where he never looked)
Finish dishes
Tell both girls that they look beautiful, because they ask. And compliment them on their hair, because even though it looks mostly the same each day, TODAY it "makes them crazy," and "it looks like crap" and they "can't even"
Remind D that since he is ready 45 minutes before everyone else, to please take the trashes out of the can (yes, I have to remind him every day, even though he does it every day) and get them ready to take out. No need to remind him to put new bags in the trash, since nobody every does that but me.
Tell C to stop walking around in his towel after his shower, barely covering everything from his belly down, because "the girls don't want to see that nonsense..." and to "get dressed, since we have 10 minutes before we have to leave," to which he yells "I AM!!!"
Hear J tell me again that she's tired, her hair looks like crap, and she has a big zit.
Finally have everyone ready, except C, when it's time to leave. Go ahead and start walking out, telling C we're leaving, to which he replies, "I'm COMING!!!" He's not coming.
Finally leave the house at 7 am, and head to the high school.
Chat - or not- with the kids, depending on their moods, about topics on the radio
Arrive at school, only to have them sit in the vehicle until I am EXACTLY where they want to be let off, instead of them getting out farther back.
Come back home, fully intending to get something done around the house, but taking a nap instead because....I have four teenagers.

I am thankful that someone else is cooking most of the dinner I will be eating, and there are enough options that I don't have to deal with "I don't want that AGAIN!!"
Most of all, I'm thankful that I have a family to love and complain about, and that we all get to spend Thanksgiving together. I love them all.