Hello there...

Dear son,

life can be very hard sometimes - especially when you're approaching your teens. I know this, and I know that you rage against it. You can feel it hurting and you just can't stop it. Then we, your parents, come along and you want us to make it better. But often we make it worse. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry when I shout at you when I should be hugging you. I'm sorry for the terrible things I say when I should be saying, 'it's OK. I love you.' Instead, what you hear is 'I hate you,' even though those aren't the words that come from my mouth, aren't the words I mean. I promise , from now I will try harder to understand what you are going through. Not to jump in and say I know, when I obviously don't, but I promise to try and listen. I can't say the rest of your growing years will be easy, and I won't get it right that often. You, your brothers, your Dad and me, though, we all have something in common. Something to cling on to when emotions are high. Something to celebrate when things are going well. We are a family. As long as we remember that, as long as we are together, things will turn out OK in the end,

Mum