Good morning all! Welcome to another day of "finding the balance between forgiveness and annoyance" as Billybagpuss so accurately put it!
Haven't received any worrying reports from DH about DD yet, so I am assuming all is ok. Either that or he is being tight-lipped 
. I do know she has managed to wangle a trip to Decathlon and new trainers out of him though typical . And whoever said down thread that I would miss them (sorry, can't scroll down that far ATM)) you were right, so sorry for doubting!
Great to have more newcomers to the thread! So sorry you are going through it; but it does really help to know it's not just me! And hopefully helps everyone to know we are not alone!
Auberginesrus I hope your ds comes home soon 
. You must be so worried and furious at the same time!
Whoops75 hang in there, in time he will hopefully appreciate that you didn't give up
Oh no Auberginesrus and Whoops75 do you really have to cancel your trips? That is so awful for you and your respective families. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why. As has been said, the uncertainty really does cause huge stress and grinds you down. Life on tenterhooks indeed!
Part of me feels so badly on your behalves though, I kind of want to ask if you could go without them, or despite of them? Easy to sit here and say that though, as I know I probably wouldn't do that myself! Failing all of that, can you drive to where there are and kidnap them and take them with you? Again, I know I am clutching at straws. It just seems so wrong that your hard earned money and planning should all be for naught. So sorry 
. I'd be really livid though!
Sounds as though you are spinning a huge number of p!ates Forksintheroad which must be very hard. I hope you can take some time out for yourself this weekend and that you get to see your friend soon. .
And very wise words about not stretching ourselves too thinly there from Tickling cheese. I must confess I am currently flirting with the idea of taking ADs which my doctor has offered as I do feel depressed/demotivated about things, and keep thinking "how am I going to survive two/ three more years of this" (probably much more if DD lives at home while attending university, which many of her peers do). I'm a bit scared of pills though, especially now they've discovered ADs are harder to come off than they realised (or something). As you can tell, I am not a hcp!
And to LordProFekkoThePenguinPhd and all of you with hot headed husbands/partners who are clashing with your teens which can't be easy!
To my shame, in our household, my DH is the over-indulgent tolerant one, and I am the one who needs calming down 
McMen71 I hope you had no phone calls in the early hours and that your dd and her bf turn up safely at yours soon.
Billybagpuss it was one of those conversations where whatever you say she wouldn't listen or believe. That feeling of helplessness is very familiar to me ATM, and we are having lots of those conversations in our house too. I hope your dd2 is ok? She sounds lovely! I hope she will soon find "her niche" and more confidence in her own good qualities.
Escapade that's a really interesting question! And one I was asking myself at the beginning of this thread as it was being thrown in my face by DD rather a lot! (My current position is similar to Machinesbee's although I only work 18-20 hrs from home atm, although I am at v early stages of trying to get a new enterprise on its legs currently !).
Anyway, my answer would be, judging from what others have said on here, and the experience of family and friends, is that no , it doesn't seem to make much of a difference from the teen pov, but as Tickling cheese touched on, it may have an impact on your confidence and self esteem and how you deal with their rebellion.
I started this thread because it was becoming clearer to me that one has to be quite mentally robust to parent a teen effectively. As has been discussed previously, girls in particular (see the book "Untangled") tend to hone in on our weak spots and use them to "attack" us with as they attack authority and what we stand for. It's like they hold up a mirror to our faces and say "justify that!". So it's ideal if you are in a "good place" when the teen years and the "onslaught" arrives and it's good for them too I think , if we can look back in the mirror unflinchingly and calmly! (Or we at least have the self confidence to say "yes this is me, I'm not perfect".)
And if getting to that "good place" means pursuing a job, or an interest, or some other activity that makes you feel good about yourself then that is a very good thing I reckon! Not least because you can then identify as a separate person in your own right, not just as X's mother, and they can see you in that light too!
Given my time again, and knowing what I know now, I would do things differently I think! But she has always earned 10 times my salary and travelled frequently, and we've lived in countries where I couldn't work for tax reasons, so it hadn't been easy!
HTH anyway Escapade and you are very wise to be thinking ahead!
Going to let this long essay now - then go and do something - and I'll bbl to respond to the other posts!
Hope everyone is having a good morning so far!