A mother passing by her daughter’s bedroom was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope propped up prominently on the center of the bed. It was addressed, “Mom.” With the worst premonition, she opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:
Dear Mom,
It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you. I had to elope with my new boyfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you.
I’ve been finding real passion with Ahmed and he is so nice, even with all his piercings, tattoos, beard, and his motorcycle clothes. But it’s not only the passion Mom, I’m pregnant and Ahmed said that we will be very happy. He already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. He wants to have many more children with me and that’s now one of my dreams too.
Ahmed taught me that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone and we’ll be growing it for us and trading it with his friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want.
In the meantime, we’ll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Ahmed can get better; he sure deserves it!!
Don’t worry Mom, I’m 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I’m sure we’ll be back to visit so you can get to know your grandchildren.
Your daughter,
JudithPS: Mom, none of the above is true. I’m over at the neighbor’s house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card that’s in my desk center drawer. I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home.
At first I laughed.
Then I actually started thinking about everything the daughter wrote. We want the best for our children and we have our own thoughts of what we consider “best” for them.
Are we willing to step back and let our children choose their own life course even if it isn’t what we want or will we act like a broken nagging record trying to make them feel guilty for their choice?
If THAT is my child’s life choices that she/he makes, then YEAH I’m going to nag!!! Ain’t NO ONE going to stop me!
My kids have made some choices that I’m not happy with, but I’ve lived with. I can live with my son’s piercings, tattoos and even tongue splitting, but I can’t look at that last one without wanting to barf. He’s starting to regret that and try to fix it… I’ve got a beautiful grandson out of the deal, however a LOT of heartache and headache for the situations that got him here and the situations we’re currently in. My son has realized his mistakes and is dealing with them the best way he can so he can be a good father to his son.
I’m careful about my nagging as I know when it goes too far. But the kids understand where it’s coming from.
I’m glad your son is making the right choices now. It is fine line between nagging and being helpful once your child is an adult. I think I would totally freak if my child did everything that was in the chuckle. LOL 🙂
Wonderful post and made me smile ~ xoxo
artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)
Thank you! 🙂