Can I edit my son, please?

Yesterday, I was inspired while editing my book. I wanted to capture my inspiration and came up with this:

Editing joy (is when) your inward excitement roars at the strength of your story even if its hidden by a mess of unnecessary words. 

(you can see the graphic here)

Today though, as I come off of a rough couple of weeks with my almost thirteen-year-old son, I am wondering if what I learn in EDITING applies to PARENTING my pre-teen? Let's try this...

A mama must find joy in the heart of her child even amidst the mess of his "unacceptable" behavior and/or words. 

Insert "--feeling frustrated" on my status update please.

I really did not expect parenting a pre-teen to be so exhausting...and so...crippling. Maybe it is because I am a strong believer in "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks," and what comes out of my son's mouth sometimes is not so lovely.


When writing a story, I can flood the pages with unnecessary words...and as long as I go back through and edit, no harm is done. If only parenting was that straightforward, right (and I am not underestimating the job it is to edit a book...it can be very tricky...um...I have edited six of them).

But I cannot go back and edit my son. HA! And apparently he is having a hard time editing the overflow of his mouth.

Something different must happen, though. And I have decided it is a matter of a character "edit". Yet, as his mother, I can't do his edits, no matter how much I want to. I can only give him the tools and instructions he needs. Just like when I get a great critique from my writing partner. She can only suggest things to point me in the right direction, but she can't make the corrections for me. As the story's writer, that's my job.

No matter how hard I try, I can't change my son's attitude, actions, or words. BUT, I can guide his HEART. In doing so, I pray he cuts away the unnecessary mess, and polishes the strong character that I know is in there!

Any ideas on how to accomplish guiding a teen? I am open to suggestions!