Growing up I thought I would be a lot of things at the age of 25; successful at my career, a wife, a home owner, community advocate.

However; I never imagined that in addition to those things I would be a 25 year old mom of 2 tweenagers.
When I found myself in this position I was naïve enough to think that it would be a walk in the park.

We could talk about boys, and problems at school. I would be the one that they would come to for all those embarrassing things that happen when your body starts growing up. What I didn’t take into account was that this mindset would eventually put me between a rock and a hard place.

I fell into the rut of wanting them to like me so badly that I forgot I was also a parent, an authoritative figure. So when times came that I had to take on that role the girls were confused and would easily became upset.

When I noticed this happening, I realized I had to make a decision. I had to decide to be friend or, for lack of a better word, foe. There could be no combination of both.

My decision was the latter. I made a conscious effort to always be available and approachable if they had something they wanted to talk about but I quit seeking them out.

The girls still come to me with things that weigh heavy on their minds and I’m still able to receive the respect that a parent deserves.

Photo Credit: reb

Tina can be found most days at her laptop, which according to her husband is a permanent appendage of her body, transcribing her “mad” life at Madhatter Mom or on Twitter when she should be cleaning the house.