Wrong Turn

Do you ever find yourself getting lost in a day dream only to snap back to reality and realize you have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way? That seems to be what’s occurred during my stroll along Parenting Drive and my GPS doesn’t seem to be rerouting.

My daughter is in the pre-teen (aka: tween) stage and we seem to be hitting an overload of speed bumps. Am I the only one that feels like I’ve run into a dead-end? Up until this point, I thought I was doing pretty well as a single parent. My daughter’s father dead-beat-donor hasn’t been involved since before my daughter’s 1^st birthday and even then, it was nothing to write home about (maybe more like something to include in a policy report). Although I didn’t have support from the father dead-beat-donor or his family, my family has been my biggest support system and words will never fully express my true appreciation for their unconditional love and support. And sure, there have been bumps in the road along the 11 year road-trip but that’s expected. However, lately, it seems like we’ve experienced some major detours and tire blowouts.

Without boring you with all the details, we both have areas we can work on individually that can help us improve our relationship.

Things I’ve learned and need to work on:

· I need to stop engaging in the talking back and just let what I’ve already communicated be my final word.

· I have a horrible habit of getting over things quickly. Yeah it sounds great to not be upset all the time, but I constantly find myself getting walked all over. And eventually, all those “things” build-up over time.

· I need to stop worrying so much about having a “friend” relationship with my daughter that it clouds my authority role. I’m sure there’s a happy medium where she’ll feel comfortable to come to me about almost anything while still understanding that I’m the mom and consequences do exist.

So, while my daughter is staying with my parents for part of the summer and getting some time to herself to focus on her own demons, I’ll be focusing on mine. I’m hoping this blog will even offer me some relief as I tend to keep all of my feelings and thoughts inside, so this will provide an avenue for venting and it’s cheaper than a therapist!

Although most of my posts thus far have been purely random or nothing too serious, expect some seriousness thrown in here and there from this parenting road trip of mine.

And please share any helpful tips, links, reads, etc.

Chat later,

Cassandra

 

Cassandra

One Week to Departure

I’m so excited to be moving in a week. I’ve got new décor chosen for the living room, bathrooms, kitchen, eating area, and bedrooms…plus I’ll be getting back a craftroom with a door/hidden passage to my chaos!!

Packing is the most annoying task ever, but I’m so excited for the unpacking part. When I moved last year I went from a 3 Bed+Den house to a 2 Bed townhouse…and I had a hard time downsizing my belongings so there’s a TON to get repacked and organized. Luckily, I already tacked the garage organization after I moved in so everything is stored in plastic storage totes and ready to be moved.

The areas that need to be repacked include: my bedroom, my daughter’s bedroom, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room décor, and craftroom everything! I literally finished unpacking my craft *crap* in January 2013 (7 months after moving in) only to decide that it was time to move again. In my defense, I had planned on signing a 2^nd lease but an opportunity presented itself that I couldn’t pass up so instead of signing on the dotted line, I turned in a Notice to Vacate.

I’m trying to keep on schedule for what’s going down with this move:

5/25/13

· finish packing

5/26/13

· clean-up new place after tenant vacates (house is owned by my b/f so we get the fun task of cleaning up after the tenant

· take pictures of empty and clean rooms the “before”

5/28/13

· pick up U-Haul

· pick up living room set after work

· start loading up the U-Haul

5/29/13

· finish loading up the U-Haul

· unload the U-Haul at the new place

· start getting things unpacked and setup

· return U-Haul

5/30/13

· go back and thoroughly clean-up townhouse

· turn in keys and finalize move-out with office

5/31/13-6/1/13

· finish unpacking

· decorate

· take “progress” photos of areas as they are addressed

6/2/13

· take “after” photos of areas as they are completed

· make a list of “still needed” items for the house

· sit and relax and probably fall over from exhaustion

Wish me luck!

Chat later,

Cassandra

 

Cassandra