Friday, October 28, 2016
That "Other" Stage of Parenting
So...here I am again. Restarting this blog. It's existed for, what, the last ten years? Of which I've ignored it for about the eight. But it's my space. I come back to it when I need it. And I find I need it now. Why?
Well if you're reading this blog post you likely already know that I am a mom to two beautiful girls. They are in so many ways the light of my life. Next year is a special year because my oldest girl will turn 18 - she'll be a grown-up!
I am freaked out about that.
There are so many questions floating, bumping up against each other in my mind:
The resources were lacking in a serious way.
Well if you're reading this blog post you likely already know that I am a mom to two beautiful girls. They are in so many ways the light of my life. Next year is a special year because my oldest girl will turn 18 - she'll be a grown-up!
I am freaked out about that.
There are so many questions floating, bumping up against each other in my mind:
- Is she ready?
- Am I ready?
- Does she know how to manage her money?
- What if she goes to college and someone bad follows her to her dorm one night?
- What if she meets a boy, falls in love, and has sex with him?
- Did I teach her the right thing to do in any of these situations?
That's just a sampling of what I've been thinking about as we inch closer to the date - laughably, April Fools Day, of all days.
So, as I so often do, I turned to the internet for some advice. I also have many friends who have shepherded kids over the line into adulthood, but I wanted, needed more. I wanted someplace to ask really crazy questions I was embarrassed I was even thinking about, much less wanting to ask my friends about. I wanted to read "war-stories" and find out other mothers were going through this and doing ok. I wanted articles about how to help this person who I have for so many years regarded as a dependent child become an independent adult.
The resources were lacking in a serious way.
There are pockets of information here and there. But nothing like the resources that exist, say, for parents of infants, toddlers, school-aged and even middle-school children.
I mean...many folks have been through this before, right? So why isn't there more information out there?
So that's what's on my heart to write about. As my daugher marches toward 18 I hope to use this space to reflect, and even get feedback, on how to help her prepare for the big bad world.
I'll spare you all the promises about how often I'll post. I will post when I have something to post about. And I will share my thoughts and my truth as best I can, hopefully without hurting anyone's feelings in the process.
So...we are in the homestretch! Less than six months until her 18th birthday. There's a lot to learn. Let's dive in.
