Teenagers

[Cita]

I have two teenagers, but neither of them live with me, and no, they don't live with their father either.

They live in Texas, a place I thought I'd never leave, and now, a place I feel I never want to return.

My daughter lives with my sister in a big busy household, and the only way for me to contact her is via text message or facebook, and it was nice of my sister to send pictures of my little pagan being baptized last Sunday.

My son is eighteen, but he has been independent, on his own, for two years now.

Yesterday he passed out at work because he had the stomach flu, but when his boss sent him home, there was no one there to take care of him.

If you ever feel like a bad parent, try a fact like that on for size.

[Cita]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Just a few words of explanation. My daughter is living in my sister's home for educational opportunities, and the reason our communication is limited is because of her very busy schedule and her "the world centers around me" mentality. Not uncommon, just irritating from 1000 miles away. The baptism, as Sandra puts it so eloquently, snags me too, but it was the child's choice and being as how she lives in a very conservative Baptist household, is not totally unexpected. I firmly believe that guilt is the side-effect of egg and sperm meeting and cannot be avoided. Thank you to Teresa for sharing her slice of the story, and thanks for the hugs, ladies. This too shall pass. (And last night my son was all bright and chipper and thankful that stomach bugs go away and open to my advice on daily nutrition.) So much for real life. Back to fiction.

[Teresa]

I lived with an aunt and uncle for a couple of years (ages 13 - 15) and looking back, it was necessary. That perhaps sounds odd but I see how the experience weaved itself meticulously into the rest of my life in such meaningful ways. I never felt any less for my mother (I was never a "daddy's girl"). My parents gave up legal rights to me so it was the whole "shebang". I see more of the big picture now and that small stint prepared me for so many things that came much, much later. Trust yourself and in that craziness around us we can't speak or spell. It'll be okay and you've got cyber-hugs in the meantime. I turned out much better for the odd turns along the way. The universe knows what it's doing.

[Sandra Davies]

Like Gita,the baptism snagged ... and sooner or later they do have to take care of themselves when sick ... and as a parent you'll always feel guilty. Be thankful that you're not the parents of the rocket-playing boy's in Paul de Denus' prvious blog.
And this is not meant to be dismissive, I promise, just trying to put things into a perspective which I know won't be yours, because you are the parent.