08/21/2026
Listen, I have a freshman now. A FRESHMAN. Where did these years actually go?
I remember randomly pulling the car over because the light looked interesting, and she’d jump out with me and we’d take photos all evening. It was a time when it was just me and her, little besties, with nowhere we really needed to be.
Parenting a teen isn’t easy. I have to be patient. I thought I had to be patient with a toddler? No. That was just preparation. 😂
People make the teen years sound scary, and I’m not going to lie..it’s work. Sometimes it is scary. Sometimes it feels lonely. Half the time I’m wondering if I’m being strict enough, and the other half I’m wondering if I’m being too much. And sometimes I’m just wondering if she’s going to bully me into tears over my outfit, my makeup, or literally anything else I’m doing wrong that day. 😂
But I know one thing.
She still comes into my room and talks to me all night. She still asks to go places with me. We laugh until we cry and sing songs way too loud in the car. She asks me the hard questions, and she listens when she knows what I’m saying is important.
She’s learning who she is.
And maybe one of the most important things I can do is let her know that I’m learning, too.
I’ve never been the mom of a teenager before. I’m going to get things wrong. I’m going to be too strict sometimes and probably not strict enough other times. I’m going to say the wrong thing, apologize, change my mind, and figure it out right alongside her.
Because she doesn’t need me to already know how to do every part of this. She just needs to know I’m here for all of it.
I think we spend so much time grieving the little versions of our kids that we forget there’s something really special about getting to meet every new version of them, too.
And this version of her? I really, really like her.
Even if she does roast my outfits. 🥹
(also rinamariephotography i’m really sorry I chose this song when you have a SENIOR please don’t fire me)
