Life is never dull with a teenager in the house. Jasmine is a sweet, caring, intelligent, and funny young woman. In a very short span of time (a month?) she has shown that she is incredibly insightful and is far smarter than what she has led her teachers and grandparents to believe. I say all of this to offset the times when I could literally pick her up and wring her neck! Oh don't get me wrong. I fully understand and appreciate that life is tough when you're a 15 year old girl. Because for those of you who don't know, I was one of those too. And she's in love. Remember 15 year old, head-over-heels, die-without-you love? I do. And so I understand why she was hysterical when she was banned...again...from the object of her affection. See, Adam and I aren't stupid. But the fact remains that we were trying to give Jasmine the benefit of the doubt and she kept pushing and pushing and telling so many lies that it came to a head last night.
We met with her teachers in the afternoon to find out how she was doing and what still needed to get done this school year. All in all, it was a positive visit. They have seen a marked improvement in her grades, participation, and overall demeanor. I would say that's the definition of success! Towards the end of the meeting I decided to ask them if they knew about her friend Ricky. We have been very suspicious of "Ricky" for various reasons. He came out of nowhere and was now "using" the phone of her ex-boyfriend (the 20 year old). When I had asked her grandmother about him the previous day, she hadn't heard of him. The teachers hadn't either. So when we got home I asked her about Ricky and how she met him and she continued her lie so Adam proceeded to call Jasmine's Mom. While not able to raise Jasmine and act as a mother, Jasmine tells Mary everything. And Mary confirmed that "Ricky" was indeed the 20 year old boyfriend as we suspected.
I'm sure you don't need the details of what happened after that. Heated discussions, fighting, tears, threats, etc. I tried to reason with Jasmine; to explain to her why a 20 year old shouldn't be with a 15 year old. I tried to relate to her; to explain that I too, at 15, was utterly in love with a 19/20 year old. None of this worked. We're relatively certain she, and he, already have plans for how they will talk to and see one another.
Maybe we'll get a day or two of peace before all hell breaks loose again.
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Jasmine kicks a** - it just may take her a little longer to figure that out and to figure out that a 20-year-old hanging out with teenagers . . . ummm . . . doesn't kick ass.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing a super duper job The Dr. Luopa's
I truly hope that you can see what a huge difference you are making in Jazzy's life. You have been at this "raising a teenager" thing for a few weeks now, and she is listening to you. It might not seem like it at times, but she is listening.
ReplyDeletePlus, just the fact that you care enough to want the best for her speaks volumes!