Real Talk

I have said many times how proud I am of high school Jada, but there's nothing wrong with repeating myself amiright?  High school Jada gets herself up and out the door in the morning.  High school Jada weathered the severe transition to the academic rigor of 9th grade and made the honor roll.  High school Jada is making good choices about friends and self-care and extra-curriculars.

It's almost - almost, I say - enough to make me forget just how terrifying it is to have a kid in high school.  Because now we're talking about real temptations and real consequences and real dangers.

I'm proud to say that I've worked hard to have honest dialogue with Jada for a very long time.  I decided long ago that awkwardness and repetition and complexity would not dissuade me from raising issues I knew she would face in her life.  After all, however scary it is to broach difficult subjects with your child, even more scary to not do so and let who knows what swoop into that vacuum.

The thing about high school is that these topics are no longer philosophical and distant matters.  Things like suicide, consent, and addiction are real issues kids her age have to deal with.  Frightening to think, but we cannot wish them away.  So the conversations will continue.  But now they feel more real.