I am so in uncharted territory when it comes to mothering a teen. Where are those boundaries, dammit? Mother? Friend? Ally? Advocate? The disciplinary thing I have down for now (because my child does have boundaries there. This minute anyway.). I find myself longing to talk to my mother. How did she do this? I have to say she had her own challenges with us, and found them very hard to rise to. (Witness me, sixteen, failing grades, no consequences. Or when I passed out drunk right in front of my dad's face that same year. Very light sentence for that one.) And she and I certainly had some of the same boundary issues I'm running into right now. But I'll tell you, there is one gift she gave me that totally shapes who I am today and is probably the reason why I do what I do--she listened. Unconditionally. I was in her bedroom every night telling her about my day. I wanted to be there. Her love and her gift of listening, they tethered me. By the time I was nineteen I had sowed my wild oats and was ready to settle down and do well in college. I'd love to hear her perspective on all of this.