Teenagers!

How do you get a 17 year old to listen? Apparently being in a detention home for 5 days isn't the way to do it. Yesterday comprised of going to a motorcycle rally. She kept wanting to go off on her own ("I'll go for food and meet you" or "Do you want me to take the kids for a while") and we kept saying no, we're here as a family. Then she had to start walking a few feet behind and doing the I'm bored thing. She then asks if she can come back down in the evening with her best friend - you know the one that lied and took her to where she stayed when she ran away AND the same one that broke into my home with my DD! I told her no, that 1. I don't trust her and 2. A teenage girl(s) do NOT belong at a biker rally at night (it can get a bit wild). She then asks if she could go down with an adult friend for a bit. I trust this woman and said OK, if you go with her and her only. She goes upstairs to put jeans on and states she's leaving...OH NO YOU DON'T! We'll take you down to be sure you are really with C. "FINE THEN - I WON'T GO!" Whatever, doesn't matter to me.

Fast forward about 20 minutes... I'm down in the basement where the clothes she washed on Weds. are still in the dryer. I'm fuming to say the least. She comes down and asks if I can take her. I don't say a word, in fear I'll say something I shouldn't. She then goes "I promise to iron these tomorrow." I ask why she does this... she doesn't know. I get ready to take her, if only to get her out of the house before I loose my temper. C is a counselor and I was hoping that maybe DD would open up to her. We drive down and I make her call C on my cell phone. I can hear the conversation and C has just left. DD acts like nothing happens (she knows she can only be there with C) and she starts to put my phone in her purse. I ask her what she's doing - C isn't there, and she's not going by herself. She gets upset and asks why she can't do things like other 17 year olds. "Hmm, I wonder why? Let's see, how many 17 year olds run away? How many break into a house and take not only their stuff, but steals from the house? How may can't be trusted?" She doesn't like my answers, but hey, she asked. I had wanted an ice cream from the one vendor (it's really yummy) and she said she'd go get it (don't think so) and I told her no, I was going. Then she sulks and said fine, she'd stay in the car. No deal there either... I'm sure she wouldn't be there when I got back. I told her fine, I won't get it and we'll just go home. She said no, and gets out of the car. She walks a few paces behind me and doesn't want anything and sulks all the way back to the car. We come home and order pizza for dinner. She acts like there is nothing wrong.

Fast forward to later in the evening... I fall asleep on the couch with DS. I wake up and say we're going up to bed. DH and both DD's are still up. Oldest DD comes out to the computer (which she is banned from do to her actions) and starts going to town. She goes to Myspace© and Mapquest© to look up directions before DH realizes she's on. He asked her what she's doing, she replied looking up the directions to a graduation party of a girl she used to work with. DH goes "No, your mother is taking you". She asks if I'm going to follow her with the other car - No, you aren't driving. She's mad again. I have told her since the day she came home with the invite that I was taking her. Then 2 days afterwards, her friend said that I was invited, as her mom used to be my babysitter and I know her entire family, but haven't seen any of them for years. She was fine with it then. Wonder what other running she had in mind?

It's almost 11 and she's still not out of bed. She hasn't been taking her medication (I counted the pills this am... she goes out in the evening and rattles the bottle so it seems like she's taking them). I'm really ready to send her back to the shelter. Maybe then she'll realize that you can't do what you want like she does. Or maybe she just won't give a darn (but change the "r" to a "m" for the actual word!)

Update: After I originally posted this, I went to wake her up. She actually was up and ironing the bag of clothes from the other day. I'm still waiting for her to do something with the stuff from the washer. Oh, she also asked if she was going to follow me up to the graduation party. When I said no that she was told that I was taking her, her reply was that no one told her that (even though DH had told her last night and I had said that I would take her when she first told me I was invited.) About 10 minutes afterwards, she came to tell me she doesn't feel like going since it's raining out. To redeem herself, she went grocery shopping for me & updated her resume!