Life lessons learnt

My week of mothering a teenager comes to a close at 5.55pm today barring any flight delays. It has been a week of life lessons. I love my friend like a sister yet we couldn't be more opposite. I am OCD, she is laid back. Both of us are foreigners in this country so that is huge common ground yet we do not come from the same country. She speaks a kazillion foreign languages, I can butcher 3. I came from a loving family and she wishes she did, I wish more than anything that she did to. Our similarities outweigh our differences and that is all that counts.

We raise our children very differently. I am a parent, she is a friend. She is also a parent but more of a friend. It makes her crazy that I am strict and makes her crazy that she isn't, me too This week I learnt that I won't back down. I will stick to my guns.  I made a few phone calls when teenager went out to the places she went to. She didn't always go to the ones she said she would But she doesn't know that.. I always knew where she was though cos I have radar, it's built in. ( I lost her once but found her by accident)

When you walk into my house and the first words out of your mouth are not hello but, "if I smell like smoke it's because I was just stopped at a red light and the car next to me was filled with smokers and they had their windows down", I will not buy it, not for one nano second. I also will not let on that I don't believe you as you are not my child and it is not my place to whip your sorry arse into shape in one week. When your Mother tells us both that you may not go to a party and as you are telling me where you are going you refer to it as a party on 3 different occasions, I will change your curfew to one that is oh so very early, just to piss you off but I won't mention the party, cos you wouldn't go to one of those as you are not allowed to and told me you wouldn't.

 If you lay down with dogs you will wake up with fleas. I am not naive enough to believe that my girls will not try and lay down with dogs but believe me I will have a heavy dose of flea powder waiting for them and possibly also a good old fashioned flea dip as well.

I'm off to see if I have any grey hairs. I bet I do. I didn't before. Life has a way of teaching you lessons everyday. keep your eyes open so that you don't miss them. Sleep with one open if you must just in case someone tries to sneak out at 4.30 am.