When other parents make it look easy

You're sitting in the bleachers at your daughter's soccer game. The mom next to you is laughing with her son. He's showing her something on his phone. She's teasing him about something. He's grinning.

It looks… easy.

And you think: When's the last time my kid wanted to sit next to me?

On the way home, you ask about her spectacular assist. She gives you a one-word answer and pulls away. And that thought you've been trying not to think gets louder:

Other families don't seem to have it this hard.

Because your teen rolls their eyes at your advice. They disappear into their room. They want you to leave them alone.

And somewhere in all of this, you start to believe:

My kid really is different. Maybe I really am missing something everyone else figured out.

It's one of the loneliest thoughts in parenting. Not because you don't love your teen, but because you do.

And sometimes it feels like love alone isn't enough to close the distance between you.

You care deeply. You're trying constantly. And somehow it still feels like you're on the outside of your own child's life.

And the hardest part isn't the conflict itself. It's watching other parents make it look natural, while every conversation with your teen feels like walking through a minefield.

You start wondering: Is it them? Is it me? Is this just how it's going to be now?

And that wondering, that constant second-guessing, makes everything harder. Because you're not just navigating the moment anymore. You're questioning yourself through all of it.

If you've had that thought—my kid is different, and not in a good way—I want you to know you're not imagining how hard this feels. And you're not alone in it.

This stage can be brutal on your heart.

🧡 Jeanine