My son David was a definite, angry, had no self respect, no life goals, hated everything and everyone 16 year old. He was starting to hang out with the wrong people. Went from a 4.0 to a 0.52 GPA missed several days of school. David relationship with his Dad was toxic. I am a fixer. I focused so much on trying to fix thing for David i was enabling him to be nothing but less then he was meant to be. David and [my] relationship consisted of him yelling at me, disrespecting me, and blaming me for everything. I just took it! I believed it.
My wake up call was David telling me he didn’t give 2 cents about himself or his future. Me feeling like a failure. So we both decided to give the academy a try. Because what we where doing was not working. I cried for 11 days . One growing up in a unconventional home. I had to learn to trust strangers with my young man. Two for once I knew where he was. (safe) Day zero David made his first attempt to change his future. He apologized for his part in our relationship failures. Our first phone call he said i better have not been crying all this time. From then on I worked on my own demons while David work through his.
David graduated one of the top cadets and with a 4.0. He is now in the U.S Navy. He is happy, content and proud Man. Its been a roller coaster of a ride for both of us. We have learned to choose our battles, make room for mistakes. His failures are not mine. Accountability, respect and communication is crucial. Some of the things David said to me in our phone calls that stuck out was. Read everyday, drink water everyday, not all our thoughts need to be heard. And always be accountable.