Monday 4 February 2008

"Teenagers Scare the Living s*** out of me" - My Chemical Romance

I've just told Potty Mummy that I would Blog about this later, but I'll get it done now, I'm feeling raw emotion about this one and I want to move on and no keep going over and over it in my mind.
My teenage daughter, beautiful, stunning, lovely teenage daughter was left standing on the side of a busy main road one night last term after school. Her friend didn't go home on the bus and she assumed I knew and would pick her up. She stood and waited until I realised something was wrong and drove like a bat out of hell to find her. It frightened me beyond anything I've known, I gave her my mobile phone there and then. She had lost hers and I was determined she could go without for being so irresponsible with her belongings. If she'd had a phone,, if I'd not been so stubbborn over, lets face it, a few pounds, she could have phones me and it wouldn't have happened.
But that's not what's ripping my insides apart today. On Saturday I borrowed my phone back from my daughter, travelled by train to South Wales to a friend getting married, Darling Husband and the girls were driving down later in the day and meeting us at the Church.
As soon as I sat down I realised I'd forgotten something, opened the phone to call home and ther it was, a name in the phone that I hadn't heard of. It wasn't one of my customers or one of her friends. I called home, asked for the forgotten item to be brought down and asked her who it was? She said It was one of her friends' friends. OK, I rang off, and I'm ashamed to say I was suspicious, and read the texts.
The person is a 42 year old Irish man. My daughter had, quite innocently texted the wrong number, got two numbers the wrong way round and sent a message to this man. He politley texted back saying she had the wrong number.
She sent a text thinking her friend was being stupid and pretending to be someone else. A few texts went backwards and forwards and once she knew it was someone unknown to her, she apologised and said, please don't block my texts, it kind of cool to text someone I don't know. He replied by asking if she like the Irish?
This is where I got the phone.
So I'm in agony, my husband is furious and can't bring himself to have a conversation with her, he's polite and says the normal things, but he's gutted.
Nothing has happened, nothing awful has come of this, no improper suggestions have been made, this man could have been completely innocently being friendly. But why would she be so bloody stupid to want to do this, haven't we told her enough times about the dangers and phones and emails.
My wonderful friend had me burst into his house on his wedding day and have to listen to me. He took the phone and sent a message pointing out there was inappropriate texting going on and would be taking legal advice. He sat me down calmed me down, listened, sorted it out and stopped it continuing. All this on his day, a total rock, I love him for it.
My daughter has been told this man is 42, has been told he could be anyone, a nice guy, a child molester, we don't know. She could also ruin this mans life, he could have replied in complete ignorance and if we had called police in hysterics, his life would be ruined.
This happens to others, I'm a responsible mother, aren't I? Or am I setting a bad example by Blogging with people I don't know? Am I not giving her enough attention, maybe I shouldn't have sent her to a private girls school. I'm not coping with this and nothing's happened really. I'm not in a good place with this.