Lucky number 13!

Well it has been 13 days since hurricane Gustave hit Louisiana and today I got my power back! I am overjoyed. I run from room to room turning on lights because I can! We bought a generator the day before the storm (thank God!), we named her Charlene. I don't think we could have survived without Charlene. Without any TV and only local radio talking about where we could get supplies and when we should have power, I was not able to keep up with much national news. However I did get to see Gov. Palin talk at the Republican National Convention. WOW what a person to look up to! When we heard the news that her daughter, Bristol was pregnant my husband asked me what I thought.
I thought how sad that at 17 she has to go through such an adult situation. With the additional complication of having her mother, run for the second highest office in the country. As if her initial humiliation was not enough, now to have the entire country in her business yikes! But here is the part I love. I loved Sarah Palin's response. That she was saddened that her daughter is going to have to rush into adulthood, but that what her daughter needed at this time is her unconditional support and love.
I think when my husband asked me my opinion he was waiting for me to judge her. I thought it is not for me to judge. I didn't stop friendships along the way, because a friend was sexually active. Those are personal choices that people make. My goal is to be there for the younger generation hopefully before they make the difficult choice of having sex, and if I arrive there too late to guide them, then I can help them decide to go back to my way. Get tested for every STD in the book and start living a life with fewer regrets.
Maybe it may seem a little hypocritical of me...I remember one of my first blogs about Jamie Lynn Spears and her baby. I was awfully harsh. But in a society where girls and boys for that matter are pushed to think that sex is no big deal with little consequences I found it predictable that Jamie Lynn would find herself in that position. She is in an industry where "child stars" are unfortunately pushed to grow up too fast. It seems everyone is parenting them except their own parents. In this situation, I feel like Bristol Palin reflects much of what is happening in our "average teenager's" life. Falling in love and having sex well before we are ready, simply because we are not aware of the consequences or that the consequences will never happen to them. All I know is that I if I am ever confronted with this situation I too can remember to show my daughters my unconditional love and support as I would for anyone else.