Life

This Mom's Tardy Note For Her Teen Is Going Viral

by Kaitlyn Wylde

Teenagers are the worst — I know this because I was one. So when a teenage-having mom wrote a letter about her daughter oversleeping and posted it online, people of all ages were like: Preach!

When Cara Poppic messed up her family's tight morning shift by sleeping in, she thought her mother, Nicole, would let it go. She thought she could get in the car, put her headphones on as her mother berated her for being tardy and get a ride to school — not only unscathed, but with a note supporting her lateness. What Cara did not realize, was that her mother was a bit too peeved to let it slide.

After waiting with her other two children, who were now late for school, Nicole decided she would definitely not be letting this slide. What really drove that decision home for her was when she tried to talk to her daughter about her tardiness, only to be met by those earbuds and the back of her daughter's head. Nicole took the headphones out of her daughter's ears and threw her phone out the window onto her neighbor's yard. (Note to parents around the world: If you want to get your teenager's attention, throwing any of their flat-screened devices out of the window is a surefire way to do it.)

Even after the whole charade, Cara was still expecting that note from her mother to bring into school. What she got is surely not what she expected: "Cara is late this morning as a result of a condition known as teenage-ism," the note begins.

A condition we all know too well. And really I'm not one to talk — I was so perpetually late for high school that my guidance counselor ended up changing my schedule so that I had first period off. I would have flunked out of school for tardiness had they not made that schedule change for me. I wouldn't be surprised if my guidance counselor used the word "teenage-ism" as he brought my case to the principal for review. And in Cara's defense, on these toasty early fall mornings, it's nearly impossible to get out of bed. And when you're too young to be drinking coffee, you're really at a loss for morning motivation. Check out the rest of Nicole's hilarious letter:

But all's well that end's well. "Raising kids is hard," said Mom of the Year Nicole to Bustle, "and raising a teenager sometimes feels impossible! It definitely requires some tough love and a good sense of humor."

As for Cara's embarrassment, she got over the blush of the incident when her mother's note went viral, and she was forced to confront the fact that her mom is funny. The ultimate shame!

Image: Disney Enterprises