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    Home » Lifestyle

    Trials and Tribulations of Parenthood

    May 3, 2010 by Jenn Leave a Comment

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    I am the mother of a 12 year old girl. She is pretty average as tween girls go. She backtalks a bit, she loves her skinny jeans and Converse sneakers, and she brushes or flat irons her hair a million times a day.

    Today, for a brief moment, I thought that she might not be so average. I found a letter in her room (since I've quit working, I clean her room regularly - vacuuming, dusting, etc) professing love to a girl named Ana. Or so I thought. I had a sort of crisis upon finding this letter. Is my daughter gay? Is she bisexual? She's only 12, is she even old enough to know her sexual orientation? And why am I so concerned? I don't have anything against the gay and lesbian community. I'm comfortable with any sexuality. Really. So why do I even care if my daughter is gay?

    A lot of things went through my mind as I waited for her to come home. I spent the day scrubbing every inch of the house, trying to make the time pass quickly. The thought that went through my mind most frequently was "I don't want to deal with this." .It would change her life. Her family may reject her because of their religious beliefs. Her friends might not want to do sleepovers anymore because of the awkwardness. She might get ridiculed at school. What about marriage? What about kids? I want grandchildren, damn it! She is my only child.

    So I waited patiently for her to arrive from school this afternoon. When she got home, I calmly sat her down at the kitchen table (I know, very June Cleaver of me) and showed her the letter. I asked her what it meant, if she had feelings for Ana. I started to go into my long speech about how its okay to be honest and tell me how she really feels.

    "Me and Ana and wrote this together for the boy she likes. I helped her write it." Yup. That simple. I prodded, giving her ample opportunity to confess her deepest secrets. She laughed. "No, mom, I really like boys."

    Thank goodness!

    Then I felt guilty. Why thank goodness? If I am to be honest with myself,  its because its easier this way. There won't be any drama with our family, there won't be any problems fitting in at school. This poor kid has enough going on with her father's suicide, she doesn't need anything else to deal with in her adolescence. I want her to have an easy life.

    Oh, and I want grandchildren one day.

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    About Jenn

    Jenn, AKA "The Rebel Chick," is a 40-something Gen Xer who strives to help her readers live their best lives possible. Whether it be through sharing new recipes, sharing her dating stories, or encouraging people to embrace adventure and travel, she aims to inspire people to live full, happy and authentic lives.

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    Comments

    1. Dana

      May 09, 2010 at 4:42 pm

      It wasn't anything like this, was it?

      http://www.litnet.co.za/cgi-bin/giga.cgi?cmd=cause_dir_news_item&cause_id=1270&news_id=21611&cat_id=321

      Not 2 alarm you, but that's what i first thought when i read;

      "I found a letter in her room (since I’ve quit working, I clean her room regularly – vacuuming, dusting, etc) professing love to a girl named Ana. "

      Hope all is well!

    2. Jenn

      May 10, 2010 at 1:26 pm

      Oh no, thank goodness! It talked about liking the person but they already had a girlfriend. LOL She didn't use a comma to sign her name on the letter, so I thought she was addressing the person's name.

    3. single mom grants

      May 24, 2010 at 1:19 pm

      Great article and very interesting blog. That's one thing I'm really looking for. Looking forward to reading more from you.

    4. ogrodzenia

      May 25, 2010 at 6:33 pm

      Thanks for sharing, please keep an update about this info. love to read it more. i like this site too much. Good theme ;).

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