Teachable moments

You have to find teachable moments wherever you can.

My daughter has quite a few little boyfriends. This concerns me and I try to watch her closely. I believe if I prohibit it, it will push her straight into the arms of something awful. So I watch closely, limit their "relationship" to the phone and Facebook (no dates), and sit back somewhat uncomfortably and pray she makes better decisions than I did. Oh please oh please oh please.

The only thing I know to do is teach her to respect herself, and to demand respect from the opposite sex. Basically, equip her to make good decisions.

Being a single mom gives me a better opportunity to model this than if I were married, I believe.

I went on a date Saturday. He pulled up in the driveway to pick me up, and Catie said, "Mom, he's here. Aren't you going out there?"

I said, "No. He can come to the door. Are you listening, my dear daughter. He should always come to the door to get you."

Yeah, maybe those weren't my exact words. I never actually say "dear daughter," even though I mean it. But there was definitely some variation on the rest.

The next day, I also told her, just in case I never had before, to always open the car door for him. "As long as he opens yours first," I said. "It messes with their heads!" :-)

The lessons are just beginning.