Michelle is a Teen!

It is hard to believe that Michelle is now a teenager! It seems like just a short time ago she joined our family. We have changed things up a bit and the new tradition is lunch out with mom. The kids are loving it because I don't get to have too much one on one when eating out.

Michelle picked a hamburger joint and then ordered boneless wings.

We had a nice long conversation. She sees where some of her actions have actually had the negative consequences that I had foretold her about. She is finally realizing that I am actually on her side and I am actually trying to help her. Socially she is very, hmmmm, awkward. She tries to cover it by being the clown but it doesn't come across that way. She has not been willing to listen to me when I try to talk to her about this and offer suggestions. She talked about several incidents where she disregarded my advice and it didn't end well. She says she is more open to listening. 

We also talked about relationships. She said that she really wants to be closer with Larissa but she isn't sure that Larissa is open to that. Michelle acknowledged that she has really hurt Larissa and that for years Larissa was still kind back to her. However, lately Larissa has stopped really interacting with her. She wondered if Larissa would give her another chance. I told her that I thought that Larissa would if she talked to her. She did and right now they are cautiously working on their relationship.

She admitted that she is jealous of Larissa and how tall and skinny she is. A month or so back I had told Michelle to let that go because genetics are involved there and she will never be that tall. I told her that if she wants her own family nitch to work on her academics. We currently have no kids who are excelling at school. Yes, Anthony has made great strides for himself in school but Michelle could be doing so much more. She is making it her goal to study harder and excel at school. I hope that she can maintain that because she does have the potential. Realizing that she could have her own personal strength and to finally let go of that jealousy would be so healthy for her. For some reason one of my early memories of her was her first birthday here and she stated that she was now older than Larissa so why wasn't she taller than her. She has always had an issue that Larissa's height!

Then we discussed friends. At the end of the year she lost a lot of her friends when she realized that they were only her friends when she gave them answers to homework and such. She says that all of her current friends are outcasts. That they don't care if she is awkward and accept her anyways. After a long conversation about friendships she told me that many of her friends try to blend in so that they don't get bullied. She said that I should not send Larissa back to school. She says when Larissa walks down the hallway she has such a presence that everyone sees her and then she is too nice. People pick on those who stand out and are too nice. I didn't realize that she had such an understanding of Larissa. That night after they talked they asked if Michelle could spend the night in her room. I said yes and they did really well. 

I know that there will be lots of backsliding but I do hope that Michelle can develop a relationship with Larissa and excel in school. While we were driving home Michelle said that she actually had an entire conversation with me and didn't lie. That is a rare thing but apparently it wasn't too painful. She said she needed to do that more. Uh, yes.

Cake of choice, Reeces Peanut Butter cake.

Happy Birthday Michelle!