Being a parent is tough. I most realized that after receiving a phone call to come pick up my daughter. Details aside, I suddenly felt rocked to my very core. In an instant, seemingly insignificant decisions could become life changing for the child we'd taken such care to protect and teach and fly into a happy future. I didn't sleep at all that night and probably the next. Dave and I talked for hours with some shock, some indecision, and some disagreement even. What was the right way to handle this? How would we feel as though there was some protection for her? When would I lose the sense of uneasiness I that flooded me?
Being a teenager is also tough. So much of life is learned through experience - many of the most important ones with mistakes. We prayed to handle her free agency with care so that she would begin communicating with us while also providing consequences that we hoped she would see as protections. Rules were adjusted with privileges and privacy lost for a time. There was a lot of drama following which continued. She could continue to make and hide poor choices but we hoped she wouldn't. She could make some simple decisions to open up to a flourishing future. But it truly wasn't up to us. It was her choice to make and specifically her timing to decide. And control seemed to be exactly what she needed.
Here's to doing tough together!
No comments:
Post a Comment