need some TLC (or a reality check)

[Guest guest]

I'm feeling pretty down today. My granddaughter, , was taken back to the Girls School yesterday by her parole officer. She's been acting out lately, but I didn't report it, because I kept hoping she would get back on the right path & stay there. But Monday she & another girl skipped school & shoplifted some clothes. They were caught, although Sam didn't actually have any merchandise on her, so she wasn't arrested for the shoplifting. But the truancy was a parole violation, along with having another passenger in the car. The clincher was when her P.O. went to the school & checked her attendance record. In two months she had 52 incidents of missing one or more classes, plus the full days that I knew about. The school has a website where parents can check grades, attendance, etc. I've been checking it, but apparently they don't include missed classes, just full days.

I took her to school yesterday morning, knowing that her P.O. was going to take her out of school. She knew it was likely too, but she was hoping I'd talk him out of it. I came home & just went to sleep, so I wouldn't have to think about it. He came by later & talked about it. She will have a hearing in 2-3 weeks to determine what happens next. I feel like I failed her, even though I did everything I could think of to encourage her to make healthy choices. Last week we were talking about the prom, and looking on the Internet for info on cheap travel in Europe, as she wanted to do something like that before starting college. And all this time she was skipping school, blowing off school assignments, and lying to me about where she went, etc. I tried the philosophy that kids will live up to your expectations, so I gave her some freedom, and she just took advantage of me. Now she tells her P.O. she never wants to talk to me again, like I'm the one who screwed up.

What can I do? What should I do? I just feel demoralized. The only way I can function is to just shove it down under some of the other shit I've buried. Thanks for being the kind of people I can be honest with.

Ramblin' Rose

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