Teenagers

I just wrote a response to a woman, on Circle of Moms, whose 16 year old son is getting into trouble in the teenage years. This hit very close to home. There are some things that I have had to accept. My sons are now 28, 26 and 20. They started getting into trouble in their teenage years. They all, had always been, "special ed" kids, with ADD and ADHD. They have all said that they had good childhoods, with everything, and that what has transpired was their own faults. They made their own decisions after they were adults, or course. It still is not easy for a mother to stand by and watch, but that's about all you can do. I thoroughly endorse two different organizations that I have had the opportunity to observe in my nursing practice and have made many, many referrals to, over the years:

http://www.delanceystreetfoundation.org/ based in San Francisco CA (with facilities in NY, NC, Los Angeles) and

http://www.thehealingplace.org/ based in Louisville KY

My book, is a tribute to my sons. I of course, love them more than anything. The story The Day I Met You and You Met Me! is a story that I told all of them when they were little. I wrote it down on paper in 1989 and it took until 2008 for me to get it out to the world because I was so busy, working and raising my children. The facts are: they grow up, they make their mistakes, they make their own choices, good and bad. All a mother can do is to provide support, resources and guidance.