negotiate

Ireland is on my list.  And I would love to see Istanbul.

Your comment about your ear infection is interesting.  Everyone seems to have some similar ailments .  And everyone I have talked to is having a hard time sleeping, is very emotional, is off center...I think everyone is ripe for change.  I am not surprised your Reiki practitioner noticed.  I think everyone is up for something big.

My neighbor, the older psychic woman, had a dream that she was in a glass room, absolutely transparent, with water flowing freely and cleanly down the walls.  Since then she is having visions - clear visions.  I think heightened sensitivity is also part of what is happening to all of us.  And you have noticed it!  You are part of it!

We're changing.

I wonder if you could find the right words when talking to your sons.  I don't know if I have advice. What I think you are doing right and best is offering consistency.  What I did when mine were young was negotiate.  We negotiated everything. That does not mean they never did anything stupid. That does not mean they did not het in trouble.  But what I noticed was that when we negotiated, they abided by our agreement.  We talked it all out, sometimes at great length.

I remember thinking, more than once - "Damn, why can't you all just do what I say!"  It took a lot of work, but it was worth it in the end.

Interesting question - are you being too strict to keep them from being like our brothers?  How much freedom do they have compared to their peers?  Not their friends, but to the average student in their class?  You parent differently than we were parented.  Our brothers had completely different problems...

What I hear from the outside is that you are always calm and friendly in the way you talk to them.  I don't understand why they think it is okay to call their mom a bitch.  That is abusive.  Their father allows them to speak to any woman, especially his wife, that way?

Only you know what is going on inside your home.  As soon as someone from outside the immediate family enters, the dynamics change.

What do you think?  What do you want? How do you get there?  And you're right - this age sucks...really sucks.  Even the notoriously good kids do stupid things!

Don't give up. Keep smiling, and don't let anyone call you a bitch or doubt your sanity.

Still feeling exhausted and congested and achey. I'll be back tomorrow.

I love you,

Clare