Breakups and Makeups

Whoever said that parenting a teenager is easy was wrong, wrong, WRONG!!! In fact, it's probably one of the hardest, most exhausting tasks I've ever taken on. Oh, where shall I begin?

Do you remember my mentioning about a month ago when Brittany was on her official visit in Alabama and how her boyfriend of 9 months broke up with her via text message? She was completely devastated, to say the least. In fact, it just almost ruined her entire weekend. Talk about his impeccable timing! I hate to say this, but he's a very clingy person and my feeling is that the very thought of Brittany visiting a college out-of-state and her having fun was more than he could stand. So, as the saying goes, "Misery loves company" and he decided to break up with her and make her as miserable as he was feeling. Well, it worked like a charm because that's exactly how she felt.

When she got home, he asked for his class ring back, which she gladly returned. As time went by, she was beginning to feel much better about being 'single', again. Several boys were showing interest in her now that she was "back on the market". Life was GOOD! Then, she got asked out by a boy who plays baseball at her high school He was such a gentleman! Do you know that he asked if he could come inside to meet Chris and me? What boy does that these days? He walked in and extended his hand and introduced himself, then took Brittany to lunch at Longhorn's. She said he opened every door for her and really treated her nicely. Problem is...she felt absolutely no attraction towards him. Abby and I were so disappointed!

Then, she started liking a boy in one of her classes. Problem with him is that he's her ex-boyfriend's best friend. Believe me, I know! They flirted back and forth for about a week or so and decided to meet at a local park on Friday to go for a run together. She was so excited! Well, about the time she met up with him, she got a text message from her ex saying that he still had strong feelings for her and that he felt he made a wrong decision. Oh, boy. Needless to say, her meeting with that boy didn't go so well because she shared the text message with him and he told Brittany that he couldn't date her because he was Patrick's best friend. She came home in tears and things went south from that point on.

On Sat., I took Brittany and her best friend prom dress shopping in South Carolina. Everything went great...we had such a good time and we were successful! On Sat. night, Brittany started getting more text messages from her ex saying that he still loved her and wanted to see if there was a chance for them. So, she decided to meet up with her best friend at Starbucks to talk it out. Little did I know until the next day that she met with her ex after she finished with her friend at Starbucks. She confided in me that Patrick cried in front of her because he said he didn't intend for them to, actually, break up. He said he was just concerned that we were going to be moving sooner than what we are and he didn't want to get hurt in the process. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!!!

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. Well, Patrick continued to text her and spill out his feelings for her. She, finally, told me that she was beginning to think they had made a big mistake about breaking up. Oh, no...here we go, again! Remember...they had split up once before and got back together. So, she met him last night for about an hour, against my better judgement. When she got home, she was all giddy...and I knew. Yes, they've decided to give their relationship another try. I am not happy about it, at all. I don't welcome all the drama this is bound to bring back into our home. My heart tells me she's making a big mistake...and I can't give her my blessing. I love my daughter with all my heart and I will ALWAYS be here for her, but there comes a point in time now that she's an adult where she has to live with the consequences of her actions. My gut tells me that she's going to end up at square one, again, and will soon be complaining about how Patrick never takes her out on 'real' dates and doesn't want to get to know any of her friends, etc. Why she thinks she can change him, I will never know. The day he broke my daughter's heart was the day my claws came out! I am very protective of my girls and anyone who hurts them is no friend of mine. She deserves much better. As much as I want to scream and shout, I'm just going to sit back and watch everything unfold...and PRAY!!!

For those of you who don't have teenagers yet...ENJOY it while you can! When your kids become teenagers, you're suddenly as dumb as a brick in their eyes. People assure me that when they turn about 21 or 22, it's as if the light bulb comes on and they suddenly realize that you knew way more than they ever gave your credit for. Let's all hope that's the case! :)

"Hmmm! Teenagers! They think they know everything. You give them an inch and they swim all over you!"~Sebastian, The Little Mermaid