I have LOTS to tell him. Lynn has been acting out again! Last night Shane was at work and I went to bed early and she tried to pull a fast one AGAIN! She went to youth group and then when she came home she thought I was asleep and tried to sneak out but I caught her. GRRRRRR. I got so mad at her I threw my water on her. She sat there and bold face lied to my face and I was so furious I just threw my bottle of water on her head. I know I probably shouldn't have but I am SO sick of her deception and lies. I am sick of her taking advantage of Shane and I and of the panic I get and the fact that EVERY time I try and get two seconds of rest she tries to do something devious. I told Shane that I can't live like this always wondering what else she is going to try and pull behind our backs. So I am going to have to talk to the pastor about it when we go see him cuz he is going to meet with her after us. It is SO frustrating having a teenager that is constantly defying you. I am really at the end of my rope and I don't know what to do. I am always waiting for the next shoe to drop I swear. But anyway I hope he can give us some good advice today! And I hope he can talk some sense into her!
Kelly, I know that this kind of behavior can make a parent
SO mad, but I have to say, what you describe here sounds like typical teenage shanagans/growing pains.
My best friend, Cathy, has a daughter who is a senior in high school this year. She's a brilliant girl.....the top of her class.....and scored in the top 1% in the nation on her SATs! She plays on the varsity soccer team and varsity golf team. And she's a really good kid, despite the trouble she's gotten herself into.....she's still just a GREAT KID! Here's a few things that she's pulled over the last few years:
1. When she was a freshman, she got home after school and invited a boy over (Cathy was still at work), she drank at least one bottle of wine (maybe it was two), and she got so drunk that she passed out and wet her pants and Cathy couldn't wake her up. Who knows what the boy did to her while she was like that. SCARY!
2. Sneaking out, many times. (That's a classic teenage shanagan.)
3. Sneaking her boyfriend in her room in the middle of the night.
4. Smoking
5. Drinking
6. Partying
7. She got in a fist fight with her best friend....she looked like Rocky for a few days.
8. Last summer she got an M.I.P, so she lost her license for a few months and had to go to alcohol classes.
9. The summer before, security guards caught her and her best friend drinking and smoking in the parking lot at the mall.
And, well, you get the idea. And everytime she was caught, of course she lied about it. Some of the lies were downright hilarious.
And I can admit.......I was the same way as a teenager. And here's the thing; I wasn't doing those things to be "deceitful" with my parents. I was a good kid, and I knew I was a good kid. For me it was all about being with my friends, doing what they were doing, being at the same place at the same time as a cute boy that I liked, not wanting to miss out on anything, or whatever reason I had at the time. I remember that it was like being torn on the inside......I knew what I was doing behind my parents back was wrong, and I didn't
want to be bad, but the risk of getting caught seemed worth it to me at the time. Actually, the risk of getting caught might have added to the excitement of doing it.
By the time I was a senior in high school though, I started to mature a
little, and the novelty of doing some of those things kind of wore off. Plus, by then my parents weren't as controlling over my life. They knew I had to live with the consequences of my choices, and they wanted to give me the opportunity to make those choices (especially since I was going off to college in a few months).
This response is longer than I wanted it to be, but I just wanted to say that I grew out of it, Cathy's daughter is growing out of it (she hasn't gotten into any trouble yet this year), and Lynn will grow out of it too.
Getting stressed and worked up over it won't make the situation any better. Actually, for you, and probably for Lynn, and the rest of the family, it makes it worse. Kids either tune out or panic when adults scream and yell, and neither is what you want. You know what I mean?
I hope it gets better for you. Stay strong.
I have been wide awake since 6:30...I went to bed at almost midnight.
When Adam is 18, Noelle will be 16 and Lindsey and Hannah will be 13!! Four teens in one house. I'm going to need lots and lots of chocolate and pills. 
I never drank, smoked, or snuck out. 
Actually I never did drink. But I smoked, lied to teachers and parents, ditched countless classes, came home late, got suspended from school, etc. 
