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A Client Shares Her Thoughts (2) My daughter Amanda has experienced many hardships in her life and as her mother it has been very difficult for me to watch her make so many mistakes. When she came to me and told me she was pregnant I was so devastated. My husband and I could not figure out where we had gone wrong with Amanda and why she constantly was making bad choices. Amanda is 20 years old and had not been living at home with us since she was 18. She and her boyfriend had a volatile relationship and no matter how hard I tried I could not figure out why she stayed with him as long as she did. The day Amanda came home with the announcement she was pregnant and that she did not know what she was going to do I was frantic. I knew of a place through a co worker that offered non judgmental counseling to pregnant women. I located the phone number and made an appointment for the next morning. Amanda was very worried that the counselors would try to force her to have her baby or that they would show her movies that would scare her. When we pulled into the parking lot she almost did not get out of the car. Coming into the building we found the office to be so bright and friendly looking. It looked inviting. The two counselors were so nice and understanding with Amanda. They were anything but judgmental and in fact seemed to understand her stress and fears about being pregnant. They took their time and did not rush us. Amanda really opened up to them and I saw a side of her that I had not seen in such a long time. It gave me a sense of hope. They talked to her about the importance of being in a healthy relationship and gave her handouts that detailed how to identify a healthy relationship. She took them without even glancing down at them at the time. We left the office that day and I did not know what decision Amanda would make. The counselors encouraged her to take her time and to consider all her options. They invited her to come back to talk to them whenever she wanted. Three days after our appointment at The Lennon Center I came home from work to find Amanda sitting in the family room watching television. I was somewhat surprised but so excited to see her there. She told me that she had decided to move back home and asked if I would have a problem with that. I told her that her father and I would have rules that she would need to abide by and that as long as she could follow the rules our home would be a happy one. That evening after dinner my husband and I sat down and talked to Amanda about her pregnancy. We told her that we were willing to help her with the baby and that we would support her any way we could. She told us that she had decided to parent the baby and that she wanted to try and take some college classes. It was a beginning for our family. On November 23, 2005 Kyle James was born three weeks prematurely weighing four pounds six ounces. He has beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes. He was our early Thanksgiving present for our family. We are so grateful to The Lennon Center for all the help they have provided for Amanda and for our family. I know that it was their counseling that helped Amanda make the decision to not only continue her pregnancy but to also end her unhealthy relationship with her ex-boyfriend. Kyle is most adorable and a bundle of joy. I plan to return the preemie clothing the center provided our family with as well as the other baby necessities. I so appreciated the fact that the counselors at the center took the time to give Amanda the handouts on how to identify unhealthy relationships. I know that helped her realize that she and her boyfriend were not meant to be together. My husband and I are so glad that The Lennon Center was there was there for all of us.
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If you are interested in this program or other aspects of the Lennon
Center Programs, Send mail to
thelennoncenter@ameritech.net with
questions or comments about this web site.
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