I hurt when my kids hurt

Parenting teens is just really tough.  I love my kids with all of my heart, and when they hurt...I hurt right along with them.  The worst part is the hurt that comes in the form of discipline, or life lessons learned.  Well, maybe not.  All hurt just stinks.  I'm grateful though, for the understanding that this is part of life and I have to let my kids experience.  Grateful, only because I know it will serve them well in the long run.  In the short run though, well again, it just stinks.

Catherine shared with us this week that she was being excluded from a band sectional dinner, and she was visibly upset about this.  As we discussed further, while we don't necessarily agree with the actions taken by other band members, we do understand it.  It turns out that Catherine hasn't been doing what she needed to be doing at practice, and she is struggling in that regard.  I think Andrew and I helped her to see that, and we also gave her some advice on how to begin to make amends for her part in the situation.

We also learned that Thomas made a very poor choice this week, and made a very poor choice last week.  Both choices resulted in other students being hurt (not necessarily physically).  Thomas needed to step up and accept the consequences for his actions.  The tough part as a mom is that he didn't intend to hurt these kids, and as he read the apology note last evening the hurt in his voice nearly broke my heart.  As a mom, I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him that I know he didn't mean it and all is okay.  That isn't the case though.  Sometimes our actions have unintended consequences, and that is why it so SO IMPORTANT to think before we act.  I know he gets that...but oh goodness.  It really was heartbreaking.

I miss the days when the worst my kids had to deal with was a scraped knee or something so insignificant, and that a hug and a kiss from me could fix everything.  Those days are long gone though, and I'm grateful for each and every day we have now.  Thomas even crawled up on my lap last evening and I'm grateful I can still be of comfort.  There are so many days when I'm just not sure how I'm going to get through my emotions of watching my babies grow up, but I'm more grateful than I can put into words that I get to watch them do it.