And We're Off

This year we made the leap into the unknown with two of my kids going to Middle School. The place of kids trying to find out who they are which, for our school anyway, includes drugs, alcohol and sex. I have been so worried about them going there, and hoping that they are strong enough to handle all the peer pressure. These are my two kids that feel a need to follow the crowd, to fit in, to be just like everyone else. These are my kids that have already been in trouble of there own in the past 3 years, and have years of training in the wrong direction before they came to our family. So, I worry about them. Then there is the honesty issue, they are both very good at lieing and hiding things from me. I am learning to read them, but can't always figure it out, and definitely can't always get it out of them. We have already had a few episodes of behind mom's back this year and the year just started. Sometimes that is so hard, I just don't know how to handle it. Then my daughter comes home this last weekend and tells me about some girls in her class who have been "cutting" themselves. She and I had already had a talk about that before because she has tried a few things, having had the example of a birth mother who did it, and having a high frustration level I needed to frank with her about it. But now I have the worry of that, too. They are both good kids, I just worry so much about them falling in with the wrong people, and getting into things that are going to affect the rest of their lives. Wow, I wish being a parent was easier. It would be nice to go along, and not have to worry about all this other stuff, not have to talk to my kids about things that I didn't even know about until I was an adult. But I can't close my eyes to it, and I don't want to be at fault for not being frank and telling them straight out what is good and what isn't, and why it's not good for them. So, I guess it's time for some more parent one-on-one talks. Here we go - we're off.