amma

It IS hard when they get to be that age... the independence :shock: but we have to let them get their feet wet in the world under our supervision, before they leave home :D:D:D

knlsmith

My daughter is 18. Just graduate. Enrolling in college for graphic art.

Some days I want her to just go away, she is so stubborn and independent (wanting to be). Gee, don't know where she gets that from. hmm.

Other days are like when she was a little girl. So cute and loving.

And hormones? Yeah, we both "cycle" at the same time. This month started yesterday. My husband asked if he could get a motel room for a week! LMAO. I think if I'd said says he would have ran for the door. LOL

Janetlmt

My son is 30 and lives about 5 miles away. He calls me every single day. My daughter lives about 25 miles away is married and has a child..she calls every day. I see them both a lot. I was a very protective parent with them. I knew they had to go out into the world and be themselves. Each had jobs at 15 and they both saved and bought a car. I actually had no problem with them moving on. Both of them have grown into fine adults. Our son is going into business for himself..our daughter is a nurse. As parents we all go thru their growing pains..we just need to guide them and let them make their own choices.

marsye

I don't have any kids but I can tell ya that I had 4 brothers and my Dad was very protective over me!!! His only girl! If he was still alive today he would have never let me get married! :lol:

raptureready

Haven't reached that point yet, dd is only 11. But I did have a rough time when she went through the "No, mom, I can dress myself", "No, Mom, I can brush my own hair." And now that she's just beginning to have the little girl crushes. Plus, she's not a tiny 11 yr old. We've had to go bra shopping, she wears a ladies size 8 shoe, is 5'3' tall and starting to look "curvy" in her bathing suit. This is rough on me. A man, GROWN man, started talking to her in Walmart the other day. Making a few little jokes and trying to get her to laugh. This old Momma Bear went BALISTIC!!! I got between him and her and was right in his face, "She's 11, get away or get arrested." I'm not sure how I will handle the next several years. If you learn any pointers while you're doing it, feel free to throw them this way.

raptureready

Your grandma was one wise woman.

marsye

OMGOSH!!!! I'm speechless! I would like to have been the fly on the fabric. :lol:

watterstide

congrats Janet!
Mine are all grown and gone too..the oldest loves me more now than she ever did.she hated me all through her teen years, i was to strict.she is 33,expecting her 2nd baby. I think it is because she is a mom,she is a teacher with a masters. growing up opens thier eyes.she lives local.
My middle child is also a girl..she is 31, single,no kids.she is my "wanderer". she has always been indepentent. she has lived in Chicago,New York,and now florida. she has no problem picking up and moving on. she is happy and content. she calls almost every day.
My baby boy is going to be 29 this year. he loves his mom, always has been close to me. he is my tenderhearted child. he is in the service and says it is the best thing he ever did. he lives in texas with his wife and 2 kids.
I miss them, but they are living thier own lives,just like i raised them. i think with my husband and God, we did pretty darn good.
we were not without troubles, or friction. but they always came back to "home". sometimes it tested our patience..but they came back to what they were taught.
we helped them,only when they were helping themselves. they had jobs, saved for used cars..if they worked, we helped them with thier insurance, we paid half..so long as they were working and taking care of business.
when they were growing up, we never just gave them things..they earned them.they didn't have tv's in thier rooms,one computer in the main room.no dating until they were 16.no shopping mall time with thier friends,unless they had money to spend. no matter how old they got to be, my house ,my rules. curfews were fully enforced, it may not be right, but it was the way we did things.
i was married,then a single parent, then married again. the usual issues with all.
I am so proud of them all..and myself too!

ginnie6

bt...doing that! I've got a 21 and 19yo. Couple more coming along too. the 19yo is the first one to try her wings.....she's gone working at a camp all summer. It is hard but I just keep telling myself that I've raised them the best i could to be independent adults. I want them to succeed....not be the ones that can't handle it when they head out on their own. 19yo dd called us 10 days in with camp in tears cause she was homesick. I listened and then told her it would be ok and that one day she would look back and remember this summer fondly. She stuck it out and although she says she misses us a bunch they pics I see on FB show her having a blast and doing what she loves doing!

vjengels

I didn't suffer any sadness as my daughter, an only child ,grew more independent; maybe because I had her so young, was a single parent, working 2 or 3 jobs to keep us afloat.I needed her to be independent. I looked forward to every advancement , particularly the teenage years, not that she didn't experiment with things I'd rather she didn't; but because our relationship matured. We were able to communicate with each other as adults, honestly, with no big dramatic scences. I hear so many women say they don't have a good relationship with thier mother, and I didn't ever want that to be us.