The wonderful hell of raising a teenager

1. A couple years ago my daughter informs me she wants a myspace page cause "like everyone else has one and I neeeeeed one to stay in contact with my friends!" Now, it's not like when she's begging for a new pair of Hollister jeans or some UGG's she saw her friend wearing and will just die if she doesn't have them too!! No, this meant potential stalkers, pedophiles crazy guys with a penis pump and an unlimted supply of viagra pretending to be a 13 year old!! Ugh...Now, this may not seem like some logical form of thinking to some people, but when you are not only the parent of teenager, but one with a big booty and blonde hair...your imagination tends to kick into high gear until the point you are convinced that everyone with a penis is dirty, nasty and must be destroyed!! On the on the other hand..you want to be the "cool" parent and you give in to the offspring and let her have her profile..under one condition, I have one too so I can keep an eye on what is going on. She reluctantly agrees and so it begins.

Now, as far as teenagers go, I am extremely fortunate! Jaylin is a smart, beautiful girl who gets good grades, is not strung out on drugs and is not interested in being knocked up. Whew!! I figure with those odds these days, something must be going somewhat right! I let her continue with her myspace page and aside from the occasional nagging of "don't post the word fuck" and "erase the bikini shots", things are going fine. Plus, she has a step dad that keeps reminding her that "boys can run from the Marine Corps, but they will die tired". This will someday account for embarrassing dates, threats with the black belt and the nightly commencing of the cleaning of the gun...or hand grenades, mortars, fifty cals..whatever might happen to be available at the armory that given day and time!! She may not apprecieate it at the time, but it will certainly give us a good giggle!!

Help me out with this one my fellow old people...are things really that much different from when we are kids?? I just don't remember all the pressures that seem to go on nowadays. Maybe it's because I'm a parent and tend to see things more clearly?? Or are there just that many more issues for young people to deal with these days? Jeez...I could probably ramble for much longer on this, but I will spare you the agony and save more ranting for another day!! Good night!! :)