She Has A Lot To Teach Me...

I'm walking into unknown territory...my little girl has grown up to be a preteen. I thought I would share my massive "fail" on Saturday which went something like this.

She was upset about not achieving a goal she set for herself.
She walked away from her friends and gave me the "I need to vent" look.
I walked with her and listened.

-Sounds good so far doesn't it!-

In her anger she started saying things that really were not true about her life.

-Inside I start to think, "I have to say something to stop the death spiral!"-

I tried to remind her of all of the great things that had happened to her lately.

-Silence-

I reminded her of her accomplishments she had achieved just that day.

-Silence...stink eye...turned and walked away from me.-

I called out for her to stop...that walking away was disrespectful.

-More stink eye...with arms folded. I'm losing her big time!-

I told her to try to put her anger aside for another hour until her last race. That she wouldn't want to jeopardize something she worked so hard for.

-Clenched teeth and an "ok mom" and she walked away.-

Communication between us has changed, she needs something different now that she is older. I had a little time alone waiting for her race, and I just prayed that God would show me what to do.

It had been quiet for awhile in the car as we drove home.

I finally broke the silence telling her that I felt like I had really handled things wrong earlier with her.

-She nodded-

I told her that in this new time of her life I need her to teach me how to support her.
I asked her what she needed from me in that difficult moment when she had been angry.

She said, "I just needed you to listen mom. I didn't want you to say anything."

I asked her if she would let me know if she did need me to say something?
-She assured me that she would.-

Then I explained that when I am with a friend I know to listen and wait to see if they want advice or tenderness.
As a mom it feels different.
It feels like it is my job to help her see her situation clearly, to comfort her, to talk her through it.
Moms don't stand by and watch their kids experience pain and say nothing.
I asked her if she could understand why I responded the way that I did?
-She said that really made sense now that I explained it.-

It was a light bulb moment for both of us. There is so much about this budding teen that I am going to have to learn. Here's hoping that you can indeed teach old dogs new tricks. She sure has a lot to teach me!

Embarrassing Dating Moments!

Charisse and I are sharing some of our embarrassing and funny high school dating moments with you this week! Laugh more...it looks good on you!



Have a great day!
Holly & Charisse

Who Cheated On Whom?

Many of us have heard the sad news about Sandra Bullock's marriage. We have our own theory of what might have happened...



We love you blog friends. Thanks for coming by.

Tellin' Stories On Grandma!

Grandmas do the darndest things don't they? Here are a couple of funny stories we wanted to share with you today. Hope they make you giggle. Does it remind you of anything funny your grandma does?



Thanks for stopping by.