It has been an adjustment for the whole family now that we have a teenager living among us. I know that sounds awfully dramatic, but believe me, living with a teenager is dramatic. The attitude, mood swings, and constant oscillating between being a child and being an adult is enough to keep even the best parent stressed out.
My teenager is 13, she will be 14 in 3 months. She is in her last year of Middle School and then she'll be running with the big dogs. So far, she has navigated the changes in her body and personality pretty well, probably better than we have. But as time ticks by, I find myself desperate to fill her with as much information about everything she will experience over the next few years as I possibly can. I mean, my window of opportunity is very narrow, in a matter of months or weeks she will completely shut me off and I will have to trust that I gave her the best information and values possible. I know as a mom I shouldn't have unrealistic expectations, but its so hard when its your own daughter. I don't want her to know the shame of giving herself to someone that treats her like a piece of trash or the hurt of having her heart broken by the one she thought was her forever true love. I also want to make her understand that the decisions she makes right now can have an everlasting effect on her life.
Time has flown by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that I took her to her first day of preschool. And it isn't too far around the corner when she will be driving and then off to college. I wish I could freeze time and hold on, but all I can do is hope the job her dad and I have done was enough. Then, we have to step aside and let her spread her wings and fly.
You have raised a great girl and she will grow into a beautiful and independent woman, just like you!
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