Teenagers!

Hey everyone

When I was 15 I was invited to a friend's 18th birthday party. At 1:00 AM I finally called my mom to come get me. When she drove up to the house all the lights were off (they had lights that came on in time with the music) there was a man standing out front of the house drink a beer and smoking. Mom watched her 15 year old daughter come running out of that house.

When I got into the car all mom said was "Why are there no lights on?" I told her and the rest of the drive home we said nothing. I knew I was going to be in trouble when I got home so I began to say goodbye to the trees, the sky, the people and the houses. I knew that I'd be grounded until I was 60!

We got home and all mom said was "Go to bed". The next morning was Sunday, I came upstairs to have breakfast, knowing I was walking to my doom I walked just a little bit slower. Then my parents did something I will never forget as long as I live. My dad looked at me and said "Debbie, we are so proud of you." WHAT! They're proud of me!! For a moment I wanted to go check the address of the house to make sure I was at the right one! Dad continued "Instead of staying in a place that you were not comfortable in you had the courage to call us and come home." It took me a few minutes to realize that my life wasn't over and that my parents were proud of me.

I learned something that night. Whenever I thought I was in trouble my parents were always there for me. No matter what, I wanted my children to know this. This weekend I found out that they did!

Brianna had a similar experience Saturday night. At 2AM Geoff and I received a call from our 15 year old daughter telling us she was coming home from a sleepover. She was uncomfortable there and didn't feel safe. When she got home Geoff and I hugged her and told exactly what my parents had told me 20 years ago. What a joy to know that our children trust us and feel safe with us.

Have a great week everyone
Deb