My daughter

My daughter went for her Learner Driver's test and passed,
I was very proud of her, especially when she executed a
perfect reverse and drive-off after being stopped by a
traffic policeman the same day.

I have had some sad moments lately, realising that she will
be leaving home in a year to start her own life. We had some
tough times together, especially when she was between the
ages of 14 and 17, and she experimented with a range of
juvenile drugs, like dope, tik and glue.

Fortunately I gave her a lot more of my time and listened
a lot more to her stories, thereby succeeding in guiding
her away from seediness and back on track to being a
funloving happy young girl.

There were times when things would get really rough between
us, shouting matches, flying objects and horrible temper
tantrums, but I prevailed (as did she) and today we are good
friends, we trust each other, we share secrets, we do things
together and have a lovely mature relationship.

My advise to any parent is simple: make time for your child,
a lot more than you think is cool, and listen to them, listen
between the lines and for goodness sake, don't judge them,
young people will and must experiment and make mistakes,
that is how they learn.

There is nothing more rewarding than the love and respect of
your child.

(pat pat pat on my shoulder, for all the late nights,
catfights, tears, hours and hours of listening to boring
stories, being a 24hour taxi service and punchbag)