Relationship Road

Do you remember your first romance? How the tide of emotions swept you up, you floated around on a high completely besotted with the one you thought you loved only to be dumped like a sack of potatoes which left you wondering what on earth had happened? Welcome to Relationship Road.

As parents we find ourselves in the same position as our parents did some twenty plus years ago. Our children are standing at the bottom of sweetheart hill and looking upwards towards the dream of a perfect relationship. One son has started the journey and it has been an uphill one for him to say the least. The climb has come as more of an emotional rollercoaster as he breezes up the hill only to be sideswiped by an out of control mini-bus that is plummeting at rapid speed back to the bottom. As he slowly gets back to his feet, we bandaid up the broken heart only to see him set off once again with stars in his eyes as yet another teenage girl cruises by, stopping to chat and offer him a shortcut to the summit.

From the outside looking in, it is obvious that the relationships are destined to fail. The expectations are unrealistic. The chances of forming a long term relationship at the age of sixteen are unlikely and the truth is that the fickle nature of teenagers will see relationships change faster than the speed of light. Within the blink of an eye the relationship will go from elation to devastation and there sitting on the side of Relationship Road, all battered and bruised, your child will dial home for you to come and collect them.

To help parents survive Relationship Road, I have prepared five tips -
1. If the relationship lasts more than 7 days, it is doing well
2. There will be more drama than in a television series
3. Prepare for more credit requests as texting will exceed 50 texts per day
4. Extracting information will be like having a tooth pulled
5. The shattered pieces will be spread across the house, the yard, the street and across town and you will pick them up

In preparation for the next Relationship Road tragedy, I have purchased a bulk buy on tissues, local emergency response crew is on alert, have registered for roadside assistance and all informants have been paid in advance. Perhaps this time, we can minimise the damage and reduce the road toll.

With Love,
Lynnelle

www.5smallstones.com.au
lynnelle@5smallstones.com.au