DHS - Department of Human Suffering

All is well - I got myself out of that pit just like I do every single month.

I have a big whinge to let go of though.

DHS - or as my friend likes to call it - Department of Human Suffering.

My friend and his wife have two daughters - the eldest "Tracey" (* not her real name) has been really difficult lately. She is 15 and keeps running away from home. DHS got involved when she told all these "stories" to her teachers at school and they called them in to investigate.

In the meantime she convinced them she couldn't go home and instead they allowed her to stay at her boyfriend's house instead and told her parents they should just accept it.

Of course, they didn't like that too much and have been fighting it for the last three weeks now. Wednesday last week they called DHS for their daily call to try to retrieve their daughter only to be told that they didn't quite know where she was. They called back about an hour later to tell them that she went to stay with another friend a couple of days back.

So - Apparently she couldn't stay home, so DHS took over to "protect her" Yet they didn't know where she was!!!!

Looking at their stats on their website, the number of instances per year that they have to investigate has more than doubled, but the number of substanciated cases has remained the same.

My friends have been thoroughly investigated by DHS and have been told time and time again that there is no reason why their daughter cannot come home. They are doing nothing wrong. Yet - their daughter is still not home - after three weeks - why? Because she told DHS that she "doesn't want to".

My friends are going crazy with worry about her. Her little sister is not seeing a councellor because she is having problems dealing with all the pain her family is in.

And my friends daughter? Well she is doing whatever she wants!

What is wrong with the teenagers of today?

Makes me wonder, for just a second, about having kids myself.

For just a second mind you. My desire to have a child is so great that I am prepared for whatever it brings - happiness or pain.