Sorry...finance and accounting is kicking my beeeeehind!

We also just got back from being on the road for 2+weeks, so it's settle back in time.
Mulan, you're doing great! I so wish I could convince my 12yo to go to karate, but with her problems, I don't see it happening. I'm glad the counselor addressed the cat-thing and I'm glad that you can start to see that some of it is just normal kid stuff. I remember watching my DDs for "signs" of wacko behavior b/c certainly they got some of ex's wacko genes so they were going to grow up to be some kind of, well, wacko!

While my DDs have problems, they can be directly traced back to MY family tree, however

so after awhile, I realized that I have the dominant (and pretty) genes and quit worrying about it.
I honestly believe it will boil down to you doing the right thing. If YOU are doing the right things and no one can speak against you, then the kids will see that. I can almost promise you there will be a time that they will not appreciate that and you will go through a horrible stage, but if you keep your head up and nose clean, they will see that and respect it again some day.
I'm working on my first speech for Toastmasters and it's an autobiography (in 4-6 minutes...

). It is called "When I Grow Up" and how it took me years to find the answer to that question. I did finally find it and my answer is, "When I grow up, I want to be a hero. I want my DDs to be able to see a strong, capable woman who has weathered many trials and still stands tall. I want to show them that it's OK to pursue your own dreams and not just the dreams that others have for you. On our last trip, my 9yo told me I was their Fairy Godmother. When I asked her why, she said, 'You work so hard and you try to make all our wishes come true." I'm sure my feet were off the ground because my heart was flying. For the first time, I finally felt like a hero." (and you will, too!)