Whenever I tell people that I have two teenage girls at home I usually hear, “Oh my goodness, you have your hands full.”
But most often these people don’t even know the half of it.
When the girls moved in with us (at different times) each brought their own baggage. They had had similar but different life experiences that led them to leave the situation they were living in with their mom and move to our home.
The main similarity they had is they were both broken hearted.
Here were two girls that had put so much love and trust into their mom; the one person that they are supposed to be able to count on in all circumstances and she let them down one time after another.
The youngest of the girls, “B” was hit the hardest. When she decided to move out and in with us her mom decided to punish her by not having any contact with her for nine months. We live in the same town and she didn’t call to speak or even arrange for “B” to come visit. I watched as each passing month shattered her more and more.
Nothing quite prepares you for seeing your children in such pain. Even though I had been a mom for a very short time that maternal instinct kicked in and all I wanted to do was make things right.
But I couldn’t.
- I couldn’t take all those memories of broken promises away.
- I couldn’t give her mom back to her.
- And I couldn’t replace her mom, even though I wanted to.
The one thing I could do was provide her with a home that she deserved. A home that was “freakishly normal” as we like to call it. A house where she knew she was safe, secure, and above all else, a house that would be here for her no matter what obstacles came her way.
From Tina from Blissfully Domestic, provided by Mrs. Fussypants
