A story I wanted to share....

Capt Quirk said:
Holy crap! That is almost identical, except it was like 6 years ago, and she didn't get pregnant until she was 17! I do know exactly where you are coming from though, and I bet we could share some stories :beer:
Click to expand...

You too, huh? You'll never get credit for all the patience and hard work it takes to get a teenager like this through that ugly time period, but when that little kid learns to say Gumpa and gives you a hug and a kiss...well, that's all you'll ever need. I have no regrets and I wouldn't change a thing, because in the alternate, perfect universe I wouldn't have little Jada. She is worth every struggle it took to get her here.

We are two very lucky men.
 
I'll agree with you about the hard work and patience, those troubled teen years will certainly test you. We were on a first name basis with cops from several different departments in the area. One of the most memorable moments was after she had run away for about three days. We were doing a sweep of the area, and found her. She wouldn't get in the car, so I got out, literally threw her over my shoulder and put her in the back seat, and took her home. When the cops showed up, she was really going off- "That a**hole this" and "That a**hole that"... I started to say something to one of the officers, when he stopped me and asked "And who are you sir?". I smiled, stuck out my hand and said "Oh, I'm that a**hole". I swear his partner about died laughing :)
 
Glad I started this thread. Good to share stories. But... youre all scaring me about teens. Cant I just lock them up??
 
Noel, not all kids test their parents like that and the experience made me look at myself as well and take stock of how I wanted that relationship to be. Chances are you won't get the extreme version like me and the Captain, but, if you do, and you hang in there no matter what, you will be pleasantly surprised at how a kid can get through those years with enough support.

Every kid rebels. They have to in order to separate and become independent. And we want to raise them to independent people, so, with some kids, its a bigger struggle for them to create a separation from their parents. But, they all have to do it, one way or another.

You are not taking the little affections of your child for granted; you understand how special this is and you shared it with all of us. You are ahead of the curve and I doubt you have much to worry about. You're a good Dad. And as long as you remember that your children will be your most enduring work, you'll be fine.

BTW...thanks for sharing your story.
 
Hey, not all teens go bad. But, when they do... whew! I swear my step daughter was going out her window on a nightly basis, and we were being threatened by everyone from the cops who said they were going to start charging us for their troubles, to Department of Children and Families for not keeping her under control. But when I started to look into putting bars on her windows, everybody had a sh*tfit. "You can't do that! It's against the Law! If there is a fire, she would be trapped!" I reasoned this- If she runs away, that is against the Law, but we would be fined or worse. The chances of the house catching fire was maybe 1 in 10,000, but the chances of her going out the window was once per night, and there are way scarier things that were more likely to happen to her on the streets.

But cheer up! As I said, not all teens go bad! Sometimes they wait until they are older before they cause headaches. I have plenty more stories about her two older siblings that would turn your hair Grey ;)

I am doing everything I can to keep our two boys from taking the same path, lots of prayer is involved, as well as crossing your fingers and just hoping for the best :)
 
My daughter came to see me slaving away - thought Id post a pic as a reference to my original post.

mei.jpg
 
Beautiful! How could anyone keep working when she walks into the room? Noel, you probably know how fortunate you are....
 
That kid is the cutest. I know if I had a kid, I'd be like you - totally in awe. But see, I don't have kids and that's exactly why. The highs are incredible, but the responsibility is beyond what I can handle - 24/7 365/yr. You make your choices and you live with the consequences. If you ask most parents, you'll get pretty much 100% agreement that the decision to have kids was the best one they ever did, and it was totally, totally worth it. I'm sure that's right. At the same time, by not having kids - by choice - you give up all that awesomeness, but you keep a certain flexibility to your life. Gotta make your choices and do the best with them. I chose not to have kids, and so I'll miss the good stuff, but to me, it was the right decision (for me). At the same time I'm happy for people with kids, and I actually like kids and am good with them (until my energy runs out and I collapse into a coma after a few hours :)).
 
That's great.

Best I get is a cat climbing onto my chest and paw-smacking me in the face until I get up and play with him...

Your daughter is lovely. And somehow the image on the monitor behind seals the shot.
 
This girl's mother used to wake me up to watch cartoons on Saturday morning.
​

​

fairy.jpg

​

Now, when I'm lucky enough to be around her, she does the job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top