The Silent Treatment

Thankfully it didn't reach "Mean Girl status," but my daughter had an altercation with a friend and she has been getting the silent treatment from her "group." This weekend, they seemed to patch things up--but I don't know if things are really 'back on track" or not. You can insist that they refrain from saying or doing anything mean to each other, but you cannot MAKE them be friends--that is up to them. I just keep saying that there is only one week of school left, and hopefully we will be moving to Florida this summer and it will all be a moot point. I would like for everything to end on a good note, though. My daughter has had to switch schools several times--boundary changes, new buildings, etc. She seems to have a new set of friends each year--she does NOT have friends that have been her BFFs all through the years. Some of her good friends from the past have moved away. I guess you would label most of these girls as "classmates" and "acquaintances" more than "good friends" or "BFFs." One of her truly good friends moved away 3 years ago, and there hasn't really been anyone else to take her place. I keep hoping that we can make a "clean break" from here and that both of my teens can make good friends once we move. Teenagers and friendships--it can be tricky. In today's world, people move around so much, school boundaries change a lot, and everyone is so busy and constantly on the go--there aren't a lot of friendships that last for years and years. And in just a few short years, they finish high school and move away--often to very different places than they lived during high school. Friendships in high school often don't last through the college and young adult years--sometimes they do, but that is rare in today's world. SO--if my daughter doesn't remain friends with these girls, I think she will be ok. Hopefully she will move soon and make new friends--then when she graduates, she will move again and make new friends again. And in young adulthood, moving for jobs and/or relationships is quite common--and new friends are often made during those stages, too. I just hope my teens make a few good friends during their high school years--they can have a good time together as they enjoy the end of childhood and prepare for adulthood. As they experience each stage of adulthood, I hope that they will continue to make new friends who are going through common stages with them. I hope they learn to appreciate the value of friendship, even if the people they build those friendships with changes through the years. Since none of these girls at my daughter's school live near us, she may never see them again after this week--I think she can handle a few more days of the silent treatment if it continues. It would be nice to end things on a good note, though--hopefully it will. If not, my daughter seems content enough to look forward instead of backward--she is really looking forward to making new friends in Florida!