Speaking Too Soon

Last night i went upstairs to get ready for bed, stopping to play a game of guitar hero that Tony had gotten for his birthday. Actually quite a fun game....

I felt good about my day. I had remained balanced. I wasn't so frantic. I had finished what I had to finish before leaving and I had spent time with Bart and the kids. I had juggled my various activities fine and remained emotionally on keel. For the past two weeks that has not been the case.

I was feeling all nice and good about myself. ; -)

Then the phone rang. I had given Salinda permission to spend Friday night and most of Saturday at friends out of town. She assured me she had two possible rides home and that she would be back in time for church this morning. I knew I was taking a big risk, but I wanted her to learn the lesson on her own. Saying to her "this is not going to work" over and over again would not have the impact of letting her try it once. And I know she sincerely believed that she had a ride.

This is all well and good, her learning her lesson and all, EXCEPT that I'm leaving town at 12:45 this afternoon and Bart is left here to deal with all the stress. And so my "I was a great wife, mother and employee" feeling of last night just poofed away when that phone rang.

She's still not here. She's very upset. She knows it is her fault. She is remorseful. Hopefully she'll find a ride home because we can't go to get her. "love and logic parenting" would say she can stay there until she figures out a way to get back here, but sometimes it's hard to deal with those things emotionally for parents.

I have apologized for letting her go. She declares it's not my fault. She is not being a rebellious kid right now -- she's being a teenager who can't say no to her friends and is a poor planner. And in this particular moment, we can't bail her out.

So I leave on my trip with yet another issue hanging over my head. But just as we have survived everything else we've been through, this too shall pass.

I'll blog again from the airport or from much warmer South Carolina tomorrow.