Well, the Teenager is moving back home a week from Monday. She and her boyfriend, who she has been living with for the last couple of months, have decided to move back in with their parents (we live a few miels apart), work hard, save money, and try and get their own place in a few months. I think this is a very wise, mature, and well thought out decision. She is giving up some freedoms, and we are meeting her in the middle on some things that make us a little uncomfortable. All of our family had a really good conversation today with her and the boyfriend. A tone of cooperation, honesty, and accountability was woven through the talk. I am cautiously optimistic that we can rise above and make this work, and I am thrilled to have all my babies back under one roof. 

*The Teen moved out back in June, lived with her dad for a while, then moved into an apartment with some friends. We disagreed with her choice, but at 17 you can legally live on your own in our state. We took her phone and sold her car, in a effort to dissaude her, but she’s stubborn like her mama 🙂 Making on her own has been tough, but she’s been doing fairly well, until recently. A spiral of events have made being on their own very very hard, but I think a LOT of learning is taking place. It was awful having her leave, but sometimes we all have to do things the hard way. We all learned a lot, and I am hoping we are better parents, and she is a better person, because of it.