Just when I thought that SD17 was in the rear-view mirror, she rears her goofy-looking head and reminds me of her existence…..

As a bit of background, SD17 was forced to go live with her disciplinarian father earlier this year, after a number of transgressions came to light:

1. Smoking pot.
2. Cutting so many classes that DW was close to getting arrested for her truancy.
3. Shitty grades.
4. Secretly dating gangbangers.

Of course, these issues were on top of the usual ungrateful, pissy entitlement attitude, and the “Woe is my, I’m a child of divorce” rubbish. DW, who up until that time was a card-carrying “friend” parent, was finally forced to accept the truth about SD17, and for the first time since the divorce, she was able to work together with the bio-daddy to come up with a plan (for years, bio-dad has been a huge pain in the ass, but he finally came around a little due to the severity of the problems). SD17 was sent to live with bio-daddy, who is firm with SD17, and doesn’t tolerate her bullshit.

Needless to say, my quality of life improved dramatically with SD17 out of the house. And, quite honestly, things were going better for SD17, as her grades improved, she is off drugs (per the drug tests), and is not hanging out with gangsters anymore. DW’s stress level went down, and everything was going well until last night.

Out of the blue, SD17 calls up DW, and states that she wants to move home. Apparently, she is not enjoying having rules and consequences, and wants to get back to living the “good life” in our household, where she knows that she can steamroll DW. I was concerned that DW would cave in, as many parents do in this situation, taking the easy path and being the “hero” to the child, even though this would hurt the child in the long run. Much to my surprise, DW said no! She told SD17 that she loved her and all that, but that she needed to be with her dad, since that was the best thing for her. I was so proud of DW! DW later called bio-daddy, and told him what happened. He stated that he knew that she wanted to go back, but agreed with us that she needed to stay with him.

After all was said and done, nothing happened, but I do have an increased level of respect for DW. She has come a long way from being SD17’s doormat. We’re not out of the woods yet, but this is promising sign. I just hope that she can stay strong once SD17 is out of high school, since she will certainly attempt to move back in with us after her bio-daddy kicks her out. However, we’ll take one day at a time, and I will enjoy this victory.