[sylvie]

proud mother of 2 teenagers here.. i have a 17 yr old boy and a 14 yr old girl.. i breezed through with my son, i admit.. we've had a few issues but nothing too stressful - but my daughter took over as far as terrible teens.. hahaha

a little while back, it felt like she was spiralling out of control and i wouldnt be able to survive it, i was sure i was losing my mind.. but i kept on her and she's made so much progress and is back to being my daughter again (i wasnt sure who took over her LOL).. sure we have our little moments still with regular teenage issues, but.. nothing at all like it was.. i refused to give up on her!

i'm so proud of my children.. they've taught me so much through life, different ways of understanding, seeing the world through a much more innocent eye, and how to love from the depths of my soul.

my biggest issue with parenting as a single parent, is relationships.. my children are sooo ready for me to meet someone and be happy.. they're at the point in their lives where they have their own things going on and don't need mom to hold their hand anymore, they feel i'm a lonely 'ol hen (laughs) but.. it's hard because when dating someone, they're taking my children on as well as me, and my passed experiences have taught me that its hard to come into a relationship with me and take on someone else's children. my children have had to take on my ex's anger and jealousy and mean things said, either to me or to them and it hurt them deeply.. (not in one relationship, but a few).. when my children are hurt, i hurt very much because i end up feeling responsible for allowing this to happen...

anyway, love this thread and looking very forward to some parenting chitchat.. if there is one thing i love about myself, it's being a parent!