We are a mormon family. Sometimes because of this, I forget that my teens are still just that, teens. I want to hold them to a higher standard because of their up bringing but I find myself expecting the worst and settling for sometimes mediocre effort on my teens part. I hear myself at least weekly saying, it must be their age. These kids were born with a personality all their own. They live in a very different world then even I did. They have agency.
Ultimately, they are going to decide what path they want to walk down no matter what I think about it.
The things I am sure of are these:
I am a good mother
I have taught all six of my kids right from wrong
I have taken them to church most Sundays since before they can remember
Their dad and I have taught by example. Not perfectly of course but if I expect it from myself, I expect it from my teens
They have been taught kindness, respect and compassion
There are many more but my point is, they have been taught and we continue to teach and yet we run into the same issues as any other family.
Recently we saw a big change or what we thought was a big change in one of our teens. These were good changes and we thought, this is good. This is the break through we were hoping for.
Some months went by and we slowly started seeing glimpses of some old and not so savory behaviors. Mom's sneaky teen radar started coming on more frequently. Then, the not so comfortable call from the Bishop of our ward and all the good changes we had seen started to crumble. I wanted to pick up the crumbs and piece them back together for this person that I love so much and daily pray for and root for.
Mormon teens are normal teens. Mormon parents of mormon teens are normal parents. As much as I want it to be different, it's reality and I hang on the best I can. My advice, hang on for dear life and don't give up because somewhere in there is the amazing person you know and love and they will find their way out
Hang on Mom and dad, just hang on

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