Bye bye birdie

So, as usual I am writing about one of my kids. I think that if nothing else blogging has been very therapeutic for me. I have a theory. Wanna know what it is? I think that God, in His infinite wisdom, made teenagers cranky and smelly for the same reason that a lot of the mothers of teenagers are peri or pre menopausal and the dad's of teens are hitting their mid-life crisis. It is time for them to leave the nest, and this makes it easier, not getting along. Seriously.
I love all three of my children. I have homeschooled them for the last 9 years, and I am around my kids for the majority of my week. I am single, I don't date and I don't belong to any groups or organizations that take me away from the children. This is partially due to choice and partially due to finances. All that to say that I am around them a LOT! By choice. I have had to the joy of watching them grow and develop into independent, thoughtful young adults. Well, one of them is a young adult, and the other one is literally days away from "adulthood".
Last January when it was time for my first baby birdie to leave the nest, I had to almost push her out the door. She knew it was time to move into the dorms and go to college. But she was still scared. Now, my next baby birdie in the line-up is trying to jump out too soon. He believes he is ready to go out and live on his own and escape my "tyrannical rule". He has no money, job or even a drivers license, but he thinks he is ready. I am not sure if this is typical behavior for a 17 (almost 18) year old young man or if it the bipolar rearing its ugly head yet again, but he has now taken to sneaking food that contains ingredients that he is allergic to, lying to me and taking my things. It is not pretty around here right now.
When I confront him on his behavior, the lies and stealing, he swears up and down that he isn't doing whatever it is that I know he is. He is either an incredible liar or he really believes what he is saying. And if it looks to him like I am not buying what he is saying, he will try another tactic. He reminds me of one of those people that put together puzzles all the time. They pick up a piece and try one way to get it to fit. If it doesn't work, they will try again and again, slightly turning the piece or moving to another place. The excuses that come from my child's mouth are like that. If this excuse doesn't convince mom, then let's try to tweak it here and see if that works. I want to ask him if I look stupid or what, but I am afraid of his answer. I am hoping that this is just another phase and if I keep the boundaries firm, he will eventually grow out of it. I worry for his future if not.