Tonight I Will Sleep

I am a walking zombie, a full night of sleep will most certainly be welcomed.
Saturday it began, the persistent nagging in my head, the waterfall of thoughts running through my mind. On and on and on it went like a merry go round that refused to stop. I was torturing myself, and of course I was over reacting, but that just goes hand in hand with parenting...doesn't it ?

We made it, I made it, I really truly made it :)
Lalalalalala

I survived another sons adventures at Schoolies...(I bet you can hear me sigh with relief from where ever you may be) he is home safe and sound, and I am guessing that tonight I will sleep like a well fed newborn baby.

                                       
You cant help but worry when your kids are away from home, and when they are amongst a crowd of over zealous, celebrating teens (not to mention the party crashers ) the worry factor hits an all time high. Of course they don't understand why as parents we are so concerned with them heading off into the unknown, they see it purely as a celebration and believe that they are invincible. They see our safety "lectures" as an intrusion because after all teenagers already know "everything" and nothing that we bombard them with is new to them. If only they knew.......

My son ( as far as I know ) followed the rules we set for him, the ones he broke, well lets just say that I'm not sure I have the desire to know !! He did text me each day as asked so that I knew he survived the parties each night, and for that I am grateful, although that didn't stop me from worrying like crazy. The text, no matter how short ( I received one that simply said "mum I'm alive" ) reassured me that he is sensible and considerate, and maybe that means as a parent that I have at least done something right.

He returned home this morning full of energy and quite chatty ( he is usually very quiet ) so to get a run down on his adventures with such animation was awesome. His experience at schoolies was thankfully a positive one and he and his mates enjoyed their taste of freedom.

Now as they return, reality will hit them like nothing before, nerves will kick in as they await their results, and decisions are made about their future. The realisation that their schooling days are over will actually begin to sink in, and the uncertainty of where they are headed will take over.

I'm so glad my son had the opportunity to experience this week of celebration at Schoolies, even though I was worried sick, he pulled through just fine.
Now as parents we wait along with him, we encourage him to continue to choose the right path and support the choices that he makes......