Truth or Fair

"Teenagers are horrible. Teenagers are dishonest. They steal. They smoke. They drink. They sneak around." 
Parents of teenagers hear this all the time.  Some parents hear it about "those kids". Some hear it on the news. I am fortunate to hear it from some helpful people about MY kids. This is very funny to me, since my kids don't get away with a whole lot. 
Now, when I say they don't get away with a whole lot, that doesn't mean that either of them don't try! I mean the hubby and I are as aware as two parents can be without keeping the girls in our pockets. Have my kids broken some rules? Oh yeah! They have absolutely crossed the lines multiple times, but that is an essential part of growing up. 
It especially seems to be awful if you listen to some of the people around me. One mother won't let her daughter hang with mine, because she saw a teenager smoking on our street. Not that my kid or her kid were smoking, just a teenager who lives down the street was smoking near our house when she came to pick up her daughter. Someone called my daughter and asked why she was in the back of a cop car. She wasn't, but boy, did that rumor fly fast.  A 'friend' called to tell me she was pretty sure my daughter was smoking pot with a boy from school 'right then'. The daughter she's referring to was sitting next to me on the couch watching classic funny movies at that moment. A girl from school deliberately trashed one of my girls to everyone who would listen and despite the fact that it was all lies, we're still dealing with repercussions months later.

The important thing to me is to keep the lines of communication open between my girls and Hubby and me. They know that we love them, no matter what. If they do something dumb, we love them. If they do something naughty, we love them. If they make a mistake, we love them. Are they going to have consequences? Yes, we love them. The consequences we dole out are not the same as what my parents would have given. Most of the time, the girls end up telling on themselves. Plenty of times, we already know something has occurred. But, when we "bust" them, they know that the consequences are going to be fair. That ends up meaning that we have much better ideas of what our girls are doing than some parents. 

We don't always know everything, but I am happy to know that we are doing a pretty decent job. Because, MY teenagers are awesome. They are sweet. They are kind. They are good. And when they grow up, they are going to be even more amazing!