First of all, I want to report that my 'profile views' number has been stuck at 1300 for days...and it's really irritating me. My site meter tells me I've had more that 100 website views this week but it's not registering. I find it a tad annoying. Plus out of those 100 views, approximately 50 of them are looking for porn...I find that a bit irritating also. Vain, I know but irritating none the less.
Our spring break this last week was incredibly relaxing until this afternoon when the shit hit the fan. I can't go into a lot of detail, but I'm hoping my teenage daughter will learn a valuable lesson that she'll remember for the rest of her life.
We've all been there really, and it can be a tough lesson to learn.
In today's world, as opposed to when I was growing up in the 70's and early 80's,
gossip is HUGE. It's a lucrative business. It's in newspapers, magazines, tv, the internet, etc... And it's lethal...we all heard about the fucking beyond-idiot mother who created a myspace page and invented a teenage boy 'persona' in order to bad mouth some poor teen who then committed suicide.
Well, my teen and one of her low-life friends passed on a rumor involving some adults(friends of parents, etc)...and that rumor has come around to bite her in the ass, BIG TIME. We had one of the parents calling this afternoon to say they don't want my daughter anywhere near their kids, family, etc....and to tell you the truth, I don't blame them.
I'm not one of those parents that protects my kid at any cost. If she does something wrong and/or irresponsible...I'll be the first to hold her accountable. I don't make up excuses to get her out of trouble. She's going to have to 'face the music' and ask for forgiveness and make retribution all on her own.
My realization is that, as much as I've tried to do my very best, she's her own person and has to learn her lessons just like anyone else. It's my job that she learns these lessons...not to 'soften' the blow. She needs to see the seriousness of the aftermath she's created just from a few chosen words. I thought my poor husband was going to blow a blood vessel, he's so pissed.
Many think gossip is harmless. Maybe you stand at the check-out line and see the headlines of the rag magazines and think nothing of it, but these days, teenagers see these and think it's all just entertainment. They watch all this reality tv and think it's cool to create all this drama and have cat fights with other girls. They go to school and think creating drama is funny and/or entertaining....hey, everyone's doing it, right?
Unfortunately, what I'm seeing is parents who have adult conversations in front of their teens and pre-teens, and don't realize that these kids are absorbing it all in...every word. When I'm talking with my girlfriend, I kick my kids out of the room. My business is none of my teens business. I'm 41, she's 15. I'm not stupid, I know she's got her antenna up and trying to listen in on all my personal business. Sure, she hears me bitch about our neighbor who lets their dog shit in our yard and terrorize the neighbor kids...and I think that's where the confusion can start. Adult business is adult business, and not for teenage ears.
I hope it penetrates through her thick skull, because I'm not seeing a lot of understanding of the consequences of her behaviour.
Arg. She's only 15, and I'm already tired. No wonder my mom was so tired by the time my little sister was a teenager. Honestly, she could have gotten away with murder, my mother was so burnt out of parenting.
Someone please pass the valium...and quickly, god damn it!
