Annie (AKA Hey Terra!) has been around long enough to have experienced a lot of what Life can dish out. But, it hasn’t been so long that she's forgotten what it's like to be your age. Check out some of the thousands of email questions teens from around the world have sent to Terra. You may learn something useful from her answers:
Parents:
“My stepdad is tearing me and my mom apart.”
Hey Terra,
Me and my mom used to be so close until my stepdad came in. My stepdad is always trying to get me in trouble and it seems like he is turning my mom against me. I can't talk to her anymore. It is just too much. We talked a couple months ago and she said we would it work out together but did we? NO!I Miss My Mom
Dear I Miss My Mom,
I'm so sorry to hear that you and your mom are having problems connecting the way you used to. You say you talked to her about how you feel "a couple of months ago" and that she said you two would "work it out." Since you don't feel like things have changed, I'd suggest you talk with her again (calmly and respectfully). Tell her that you miss the closeness. Do NOT make this about your stepdad. That will only put your mom in the middle and that's not helpful or necessary. Focus the conversation on you and your mom and the love you feel for her. Tell her you miss her and you want to set up a special time each day (or as often as possible) for the two of you to be together... Just the two of you.
I'm sure she loves you and that hasn't changed. She wants to be close to you as much as you want to be close to her. Sometimes people just need some structure (like a date on the calendar and a time to meet) to get them back in the habit of making time for each other.
Please talk to her about this and see what the two of you can come up with together.
OK?
In friendship,
Terra
Need some advice? Write to Terra.
She'll give you a straight answer you can trust without any lectures.
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