Seri’s escape

As most teenagers do, Ser went through (or is going through) that stage where things get a little confusing.  She transitioned and was throwing Matt and I for a loop. 

We have friends that we had met in the Darmstadt, Germany branch and they decided this was the perfect time to take on a
“Mother’s Helper” for a bit.

So, off Seri went, to the unknown and barren land of Oklahoma…

She stayed with them for a month and really enjoyed her time.

Jake taught her to shoot and took her shooting a few times.  She is now joining a shooting club. ( Matt wants to know why our children can’t choose cheap sports, I told him there aren’t any…).

They went on a lot of field trips to various historical locations.

She was taught to make all sorts of different breads. 

The trip just gave her a chance to get away from mom and dad a bit and take time to think. Something every teenager should be able to do.

She even came back with her hair died and cut and a whole new wardrobe!

Thank you, thank you,  thank you, to the Roeckers for taking a random teenager into your home and teaching her, guiding her, spoiling her, and showing her how truly special she is as a child of Heavenly Father.  We can’t ever thank you enough. It was a little disconcerting putting her onto a plane by herself, but we knew she was going to an amazing and trusted family.

Like almost every situation in life, there is a lesson learned. Ser learned and grew a lot, but so did her mommy.

Friends would ask if I missed her and of course I did.  I didn’t worry about her or miss her with a “you have to come home now I am thinking about you every second of the day” kind of thought. It was more of a loss of control that I felt…

Being a home schooling mom I have a lot of influence and time with her.  I know where she is, who she is with, what she is doing, what she is saying, etc…

With her being across the country I didn’t have any of that. I didn’t know what she was doing at any given moment, or what she was saying to others (she tends to take after her father and not have a full time filter).  I didn’t have control over anything  and that was pretty frustrating for me the first few weeks.

But, it was a lesson I needed to learn, sooner rather than later…  She is an individual and separate from me.  She is able to make her own thoughts and decisions.  Her choices are hers and hers alone regardless if they are ones that I would have made or not and they do not reflect on me as her mother. (Still not a huge fan of free agency at this point).

I am so grateful that she was able to have this opportunity and that we were both able to grow from it.

P.S.

After her trip Matt and I got to thinking that the members of the Darmstadt branch are now all so spread out that we could start our own exchange program with the older children…  It would be great for them and cheaper for the parents than paying for a regular exchange program.. worth thinking about :)