Extreme sport...also known as parenting.....

Master 12 finished Grade 6 yesterday.

It's the end of an era....a new beginning....another progression in this thing called parenting.

Watching your 12 year old head off into his Grade 6 Farewell Formal....hearing him tell you about the girl he invited to dance...and the ones that asked him (those hussies)....you realise he's growing up....he's not a baby anymore.

You have managed to plot a course and lead them through a sleep deprived babyhood....you  have stumbled confusedly through the toddler years....you heaved a sigh of relief when they started school....and then cried because they did.  You navigated through the ups and downs of finding their feet amongst their peers....making friends, losing friends....and all the accompanying angst....and then we find ourselves at this point.

High School.....where the kids can be cruel....where your child needs to take responsibility for themselves...(and they still can't remember to brush their teeth and change their undies)......where the teachers are their teachers not their substitute day time parents.

Yep...lots of adjusting for them and lots of hand-wringing anxiety for Mum.....and of course it doesn't stop there.


Master 15 is off to his first "real" party tonight.  A pool party...both sexes....teenage shenanigans a certainty.  You suddenly find all those annoying, eye-roll inducing things your parents used to say falling out of your mouth.....

"Is there adult supervision?".....there had better be or there's not a snowball's chance in hell that you will be going.
"Will there be any alcohol?".....if there is there's less than a snowball's chance in hell that you will be going.
"I'm trusting you to be sensible!"....if you did end up going and some cretin...I mean misunderstood youth....sneaks in some alcohol, then you had better do the right thing.
"I don't care if I don't know them, I want names and ages"......and criminal records if applicable.
"Will the parents be present?"....what parent allows 20 teenagers into their home and then nicks off?
"Don't you dare drink....I'll know if you do....if I even suspect....you'll be grounded until you're 18!".....I'll sniff you out like a bloodhound as soon as you get home....and if you so much as gargled mouth wash.....I'll be able to tell with a more superior accuracy than an RBT unit outside a pub.

The joys of parenting in the mid teens....where you have to face the reality of underage drinking....believe me it's starting younger and younger.  Girlfriends and all that entails....no closed doors in my house!!  Driving....OMG....don't get me started on the terror of that...I break out in a cold sweat every time I contemplate the fact that in 6 months time I will have a child that is legally able to drive a motor vehicle!

Bringing up baby may seem hard....but believe me it doesn't get any easier!

If I manage to navigate my way through the minefield that is parenting and arrive safely with 2 well adjusted, responsible adults to set free into society...then I will consider it a job well done!