{"id":23197,"date":"2016-05-11T03:40:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T08:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ourpeacefulplanet.com?p=23197&preview_id=23197"},"modified":"2025-03-16T03:22:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T03:22:16","slug":"troubled-teens-make-awesome-adults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craftyourhappiness.com\/2016\/05\/11\/troubled-teens-make-awesome-adults\/","title":{"rendered":"Troubled Teens Make Awesome Adults : Hope for Struggling Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our oldest daughter came to visit recently. \u00a0She lives in Arizonawith her husband, son, 2 dogs and 5 cats. She’s an amazing woman who I admire as much as I’ve admired anyone on the planet… and she is crazy talented. (A lot of the posts here are her work. I link some below.)<\/div>\n
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Now let’s go back a few years.\u00a0 29\u00a0 runaways at age 16, many out of state. Drugs, alcohol, police, youth facilities, car chases, pregnancy, court appearances, and weeks on end not knowing if our child was alive or dead. She was our troubled teen and needless to say, it was difficult times for my husband Roy Rivers<\/a> and I which also included several lost jobs because when Jenny was on the run Roy could not<\/em> be out looking for her.<\/p>\n

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Yet here she is, this incredible woman who not only grew from her experiences but taught her mom and dad along the way. She is honest, empathetic, compassionate, and wise beyond her years. She also has a killer sense of humor. During those sleepless nights as parents, we never saw this <\/em>person coming out of those troubled times. Nor did we see how close our relationship would be.<\/div>\n
And though at the time we would have opted out at any given moment, we would not trade any piece of the person she is because of those experiences and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t either.<\/div>\n
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When I think back on my life it does appear to be the really hard times that I grew and learned from. That seems to be part of the human condition as a quite I once saw validated: “Pain Instructs”.\u00a0 It also seems to be how we learn to be less judgmental. We only put ourselves in another’s shoes when we’ve had to walk in them ourselves. Like I said, on this journey, Roy and I also learned a great deal and became better people.\u00a0 Roy talked about one such lesson in “How I Learned to Never Judge a Book By It’s Cover<\/a>.”\u00a0 Below are a few of the tips that we attribute to why things turned out so well for all concerned.<\/p>\n

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Front and center Dec 2018 with her two brothers, husband and son after doing a Escape Room together.<\/p>\n

Brother Adam, Husband Nick, Jenny, Son Ashton, Brother Charles.
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Jennifer’s Book<\/h1>\n
\"MeCheck out Jennifer’s beautifully illustrated book Me & Myself, A Love Story<\/a>\u00a0 on Amazon. It speaks about the importance of self-worth. It’s a wonderful message for older kids and adults alike.\"blank630x20\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0It’s written and illustrated by her and available in paperback or Kindle.<\/div>\n
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Jennifer’s Work<\/h1>\n

Just a handful of some of her work helping out on the blog.<\/p>\n