Life's Lessons

I started my blog in hopes to tell my story as a teen mom; I want to show other young mothers they are not alone. On my journey I found this blog has turned into so much more than that, and I feel I have gotten away from the number one most important thing about teen pregnancies. Teen pregnancy is 100% avoidable. The best thing we as parents can do is to talk to our children about how to protect themselves. Whether it is waiting or using contraception every time they have sex. Don't be naive to think "not my child". I truly believe my mom and dad had no clue I was sexually active at 17 or they would have talked to me about my options. We should be talking to our children before their options are one of major life changing decisions. Being open with my son is not something that ever took a back seat in my household. I am sure there were times my son did not want to have the conversations about abstinence or protection, but they were had. While we all think we can trust our children, remember they are children and they are experiencing things they have no clue about and need us for direction. My husband and I tried our hardest to make sure our son felt comfortable talking about such issues and if he wasn't we always said "if you can't talk to us, please go to someone you feel you can". Once your teenager is old enough to start talking about this, treating them as an adult in these situations is key. I was talking with a friend today who has a teenage daughter, she was saying how open her daughter is with her and how we need not be judgmental in those conversations or our children will not be as apt to open up to us. I noticed when talking to my son about very private issues he would pull away, felt attacked, if I treated him like a child. When we talked to him in an adult manner he felt more apt to discuss these issues and open up to us more. There were definitely times I felt uncomfortable with what he wanted to talk about, but as a parent we are in it 100% percent.

 I am 100% grateful for being a teen mom and am so proud of my story, despite the stereotype of how a teen mother is. Categorizing us as under educated, immature and unmotivated. While I may have been immature, I was only 17; I have worked hard in my career, my education and my family. I have raised an excellent man with morals, values and integrity. My son will be 20 in a week and I am so proud of the man he is. Not only were we open about sex education in our house but we talked about alot, we didn't hold much back and we made sure our house was a place he wanted to be at and felt safe. He is in the US Navy now making adult decisions and I no longer have much control over those, I am just thankful he values our opinion enough to seek our advice. I guess we did something right :) While at times it is scary for me to listen to him and some of his reasoning, I have to remind myself he is 20, I am 37, and he is still learning and growing. I feel confident that I taught him many valuable life lessons. Take a moment and make sure you are teaching your children life's lessons you will be proud of when they are adults.

 

- Wherever you are in life, you can ALWAYS come home.

- Don't ever let a day go by without doing something for someone else; it will make them happy and you.
- Always say thank you, mind your manners and be courteous of others.
- Your actions early in life alter your ability to achieve what you want from your future.
- Laugh whenever possible, it is truly the best medicine.
- Everyone needs to have boundaries, make sure you know yours.
- Always be passionate about your job, work hard then you can play hard.
- Give back to your community, be a man of character and integrity.
- See the value in differences, and that everyone is different.
- Always try to make the right choices, even if they may not be the easiest ones.
- Always keep moving forward, there will be times in your life when you feel stuck. It’s up to YOU   to decide where you'll go.
- Have the courage to lead, not follow. 
- Dream bigger than you even think is possible.
- ALWAYS know I love you unconditionally, and that nothing you ever say or do can stop me from loving you!