Yeah, I think it's an important thing. For me, my mom was so incredibly strict....I got a lot of wrong messages growing up. Like, when people would inevitably ask me if I had a boyfriend, my mom would answer before I could with "She'd better not!" She wanted me to be in my 30s before I started dating...she wanted me to be done with college, have a job and my own home before I started dating, because dating is to find a life mate, which you don't need until you are independent and have everything you want. So you need to have traveled if you want to travel, have a career and a home. And I understand she was coming from a place of fear because she got divorced and didn't want me to end up a single mom like she was. But the problem with her theory was that she was in her 30s when she met my dad, she had a career and a home, etc....she had to give all that up to marry my dad because she met him on an airplane and she lived in Illinois and he lived in Wyoming. So having done all of that didn't mean she had a successful marriage...in fact I think that's part of what ruined the marriage. Both of them were too independent and used to calling the shots in their own lives...neither was willing to give an inch. They couldn't compromise.
So basically I had ZERO experience because I wasn't allowed to date, I wasn't allowed to wear makeup, I wasn't allowed to be out past dark unless I was with an adult or my brother, etc. When I was 17, my mom said I could go out in groups that included boys, but it couldn't be the SAME boys every time...because I wasn't allowed to date. So by the time I was in college and she had no authority over me, I didn't know how to handle those situations...I'd never had any guidance, because it was just "No boys". I don't want my daughter to be like that. So far, she's not been interested in dating, but she's 14...maybe when the boys who are her age are not so annoying, she'll be more interested. And I want her to know how to handle herself. And I want her to come to me if she doesn't know what to do. I may not know the answers either, but 2 heads are better than one, and I want her to know she isn't alone in it, and that I won't overreact or forbid her to date or anything. There's a guy now who is driving her batty because he's so annoying and won't leave her alone. It's nice to be able to talk to her about it and give her my take on it....I think even though she's being clear...almost to the point of rudeness on her part, I think he's viewing it as a sort of game. HE thinks it's her way of flirting back, while SHE thinks she's being clear by saying "Leave me alone or I will take this pencil and stab you in the eye!" (not like she would ever stab him with a pencil or anything else...she's not violent, but that's why I think he's maybe not taking her seriously) She's trying to be serious and also be kind of funny at the same time...he's not getting the serious part of it. So it's just good that she can benefit from my bad experiences and my mistakes without me being controlling about it.
Jumping rope is such good exercise. I have one with a heart monitor, counter and some other features, but I rarely reach for it. I should!
