Uuuggghhhh...

Here we go! School is almost out. Let the games commence. We are already trying to start laying the ground rules for this kid for summer and it's not pretty.

He used to have rules. You couldn't spend every night out just because it wasn't a school night and everybody and their brother was not going to be at our house, just "hanging out".
You could not leave your dirty dishes in the living room or your bedroom because you were not allowed to eat in those rooms, unless it was popcorn with a movie and then you need to run the sweeper if it got all over the floor, because occasionally it happened. We're all human.
I don't think we fussed about the kids making their beds and other little insignificant things. All we wanted was for them to respect the common spaces and take care of their rooms. Of course, it was a constant battle, but the job got done. Their were times when we wondered why we had to repeat ourselves on a daily basis to people that would be out on their own in a matter of years, but the job did get done.

This, my friend, is the joy of raising kids.

Now, suddenly, certain people don't understand why it's a battle. Well, he was taken out of obeying rules because he didn't think we were doing right by asking him to do these things and now you want him to obey the same rules that he always had to obey in the first place and you wonder why he's looking at you like you've lost your mind.
We didn't put out the rules because we thought arguing with kids on a daily basis was fun. We did it because that's what needed to be done. So, if you're having a hard time expecting him to suddenly follow rules when he's been able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, wherever he wants to do it, then you're just going to have to sit back and expect some turbulence. My job will be to remind him that these used to be the rules and that this is not actually something new, it's just being reintroduced...kind of like bell bottoms. Hey, look how people took to bell bottoms when they made a comeback. All in due time, all in due time.

It's gonna be one hell of a summer watching how this trainwreck plays out.