Thursday 24 February 2011

Highs And Lows

Isn’t it funny how you can feel so proud one moment and then desperately disappointed the next ?

My daughter is my pride and joy.

She is very like me in that she uses her charm and wit to get by rather than any great intellect. She’s very easy to get along with and is popular amongst her friends. She likes to party and she is fun to be with but unlike me, she is NOT a flirt.

I marvel at how she just converses with the opposite sex without all the flicking of hair and ridiculous pouting that I habitually resort to, even at this stage of my life. She doesn’t need the approval or admiration of men to validate her existence.

Over the years, she has mocked me when I have warned her not to let men have any power over her and to always stay in control . She calls me a man-hater and laughs when tell her I don’t want to see her hurt or heartbroken

She never really had a serious boyfriend. She was sort of seeing the vicar’s son – a painfully shy boy called Huw. He brought out the worst in me as I would often burst in on them in the sitting room and watch him spring away from her as he then went beetroot red. I couldn’t help it – it amused me greatly! Almost as much as walking round the house singing “the only one who could ever move me, was the son of a preacher man” at the top of my voice. She told me I was cruel …..but very funny, and that she knew full well I was just trying to stop her getting too involved.

Since September though, she has been seeing Freddie. He was in the year above her at school and now he’s in his second year at university in London – studying maths. They were always great friends and then it suddenly became something more.

And this time it’s different.

They have become very close, very quickly. He is lovely – everything you could wish for in a boyfriend for your precious daughter. He’s tall, good-looking, kind, clever, affectionate, supportive, caring and he’s always very polite to us. To be honest, I’m a bit in awe of him and I don’t want to ruin what could be something very special and important in her life …..but I do worry for her.

She told me once they started sleeping together, which was only three months into their relationship. I’m pleased she felt close enough to let me know but it did upset me and I was very emotional at the time. I would have hoped that she could have waited longer, though she said that they didn’t need to as they already knew each other so well as friends. She insists he didn’t push her into anything she didn’t want to do.

I know I have no right to be so disapproving, especially given my own past. And I am genuinely pleased that she feels she can talk to me about it, but deep down I don’t really want to know. I almost feel I have let her down by being so accepting about it. Perhaps I should have shouted at her for letting him have his way so quickly but then she does seem to be genuinely fond of him and so perhaps it was a natural step in their relationship.

The thing is, yesterday she came into my room and lay on my bed and said she was having a crisis. She told me that the previous night when she stayed over with him, the condom they were using split……and that she had just taken the morning after pill.

This is my daughter. The baby I held in my arms. My beautiful toddler with the mass of curls. The talented girl who brought the house down just a couple of weeks ago with her own show. Telling me, almost casually, that she had just taken the morning after pill

I tried to stay calm telling her that pill is not just another method of contraception and that she had to be careful and not take risks with her future in such a way and she just kissed me and told me to be calm and that everything would be alright.

I have gone from an amazing high to an incredible low in what seems the shortest space of time and now, I cant stop crying.

8 comments:

  1. The chances of her being pregnant are still quite low. Condoms these days contain spermicide and obviously a lot depends on her cycle. I guess all you can do is wait and be there for her.

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  2. i am glad she is talking to you...that is huge with kids...support her as best you can and you can both breathe a sigh of relief soon i hope...

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  3. I do think it's great that she feels comfortable talking to you, but I completely understand not wanting to know any of it. The worrying never ends as a parent, does it?

    This is probably a bit silly right now, but I have an award for you in my latest post.

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  4. I know what it feels like to be a parent disappointed with your child. You are not alone. Keep talking.

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  5. Sorry Mrs K but I can't see that you have any reason to be disappointed. From everything I have read about your daughter I think you should be extremely proud.

    I can understand your desire to protect her from hurt, and I realise that my kids are a lot younger, but I think that sometimes you just have to warn them of the dangers, then let them make their own decisions and be there to pick up the pieces if those decisions are the wrong ones (after all it is her life).

    I think you should be very proud of the excellent job you have made bringing up your daughter - I hope that I manage such a good job!

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  6. I agree with Spencer, you sound like a great mother. However, I would be worried too, but she sounds sensible enough. I'd want to be reassured if I were her. When it happened to me, aged 33, I still turned to my mum.

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  7. Fingers crossed it will all be okay.

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  8. Crikey. That's just terrifying. Though I suspect it wouldn't be me our daughter would automatically turn to in such a situation (though I hope there's a long, long way to go before it's a possibility...)

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