Teens are such hard work sometimes

[smudgethepuppydog]

When children are little and feeling sad you can wrap them up and take most of their worries away.

When they get to be teenagers it is so much harder to protect them from the ills of the world.

DD has dealt with more than her fair share of death since she was 12 and last week she had yet another death to contend with. This time it was a friend who was killed in a car crash ('accident' would be the wrong word since the driver was high on drugs), the driver walked away but DD's friend had to be cut from the burning wreckage and resuscitated at the roadside. Her life support was switched off two days later.

DD also has a friend with terminal cancer and lost a friend who was murdered.

This latest death has knocked her sideways and she's not sleeping (she looks like death warmed up today).

Sometimes I wish she was 2 again and I could take away all her worries with a hug and a story.

Oh your poor DD

I'm sure the hugs will still be welcome, even though she's not two any longer.

Oh smudge, a lot to deal with for anyone, let alone a child.

Hope you are drawing comfort from each other, must be difficult for you to comprehend as well as DD. How old is she?

Devastating that she is finding out the world can be such a cruel, unfair place in such a way so early on. It must be so hard for you that you cannot rationalise this all for her.

[hugs], xxMFxx

smudge (hugs) poor,poor dd xx

So much for anyone to deal with. Take care of each other xxx

Mummyflood-She's 18 now. She looks brighter today after a good night's sleep and lots of head massages from her very devoted mum and was more able to cope at work (she works with children with autism and children with emotional/behavioural disturbances-a tough job by anyone's standards).

She's waiting for news of the funeral but because there's an on-going police investigation the date looks likely to be delayed by a week or so. I think once the date comes through it will give everyone something to focus on and a chance to say goodbye.

Hi smudge, how are things today?

She certainly sounds like she has a challenging job, but in a way I hope that it gives her an alternative focus for some of the time.

She's certainly got a lot on her plate, more than your average 18yr old young lady, hopefully she's also got good supportive friends and family, she's obviously got a fab mum!

xxMFxx

MF-She's doing ok. I'm proud of her. She's got a funeral date and is banding together all of her friends, sorting out cars, organising her time off work etc. There's about 8 friends going together. Her friend's family have asked for no black because the girl who died was, in her dad's words, "ditzy and bubbly". They are going dressed in bright colours and are aranging a collection so that the money can go to the local ICU ward where S was treated before tehy switched off life support.

When one of her younger friends commented that a group of them should beat the driver up, DD told him that it would help no-one, least of all S and her family.

Hope you all cope with the trauma. Have you thought of counselling? Doctor can arrange on NHS. Also very good websites for child bereavement - Winstons Wish for one.
Thinking of you {{hugs}}

just adding my love and best wishes