What I Learned This Weekend

Cora had her first volleyball tournament this weekend.  It was in Taber so we had a bit of a drive.  There were a few girls that needed to get a ride and we happily agreed to take them.  Listening to them as we drove I learned a few things.  I learned it takes 6 hours to get a tattoo, how many Advil you need to take before you get your nose, top of ear, belly button, and tongue pierced.  What the best scary movies out are. (Scary Movie 5 was the general consensus if anyone cares:) Where the best spot to make out with your boyfriend is.  How fun it is to stay late at a boys house and eat with him and clean his room. Where the cutest purple bikinis are. The best coffee.  How it is great to get a belly button ring/tattoo because it looks so awesome with a bikini and/or a crop top T.  And then they speculated on when guys where going to grow up and treat girls properly.  (I had a few ideas about that one after all the previous info going around in our car, but kept my opinions to myself)  Needless to say Cora and I chatted between ourselves for most of the ride.  I knew that my children where going to have more to deal with then I did growing up.  This stuff was around but not many were flaunting it.  And not at this age. The number of 13 and 14 year old girls this weekend with dyed hair, false eyelashes, and tiny little short were amazing to me. How can they really wonder why guys don't treat them with respect.  Being around the people that my children have chosen for friends I did not realize what was fully going on at the schools and what my kids have to deal with on a daily bases.  Like I said, I thought I knew.  They would come home and tell me stories or I would see things on the playground, but this has really opened my eyes.  I am so sorry that they have to see and hear and deal with things. Every. Single. Day.  I am extra thankful now for the wise choice of friends that they have made.  I think it is terrible for my girls and I just want to keep them safe and protected, but for Blake I think it is worse.  For him avoiding pornography is not just going to be shutting off the computer or walking out of the movie.  It is going to be a daily battle with girls just walking around him dressed the way they do, and talking to him in such blatant open ways.  It scares me to death.  No wonder these spirits have been saved for these days. I hope I can really build the foundation that he needs.  That they all need.  It has made me reinforce our effort for daily scripture study, family prayer, FHE, and open talks in our home.  I need to remember to point out and talk about every time they feel the spirit, so they recognize it more and more. I really have to work constantly every day, even when I don't feel like making the effort that day.  It may be the day they need it most.  I have to make sure that our family bond is really tight, that they know there is always family there for them.  I know some people think I am overly strict with my kids, but how could I not be! Right now they love being together, we have a lot of fun, even with my rules and regulations.  Maybe more so because of it.  Kids crave boundaries. And don't seek outside things when they get what they want at home.  This is true with hugs, love, uplifting conversations, feeling the spirit, guidance and rules. (These girls' parents did not care where they got dropped off and they didn't go home for awhile.  Didn't like being there.  One even said that there was nothing to go home to.  Her mom wouldn't be there and she had no curfew or any chores to do when she got there, so what did it matter what she did?)  I hope I can keep that closeness always with my family. I have to constantly watch and never let that guard down.  It is exhausting. I have no way of knowing everything that they deal with and have to rely on the spirit to guide me through this path of motherhood.  It really truly scares me.  I hope we make it.