DEAR ABBY: I have single-handedly raised my 16-year-old daughter, "Jenna," for the past nine years. Now she's begging me to let her live with her father and his wife, who live about an hour and a half away. Jenna wants to finish high school there. Over the years, she's visited her father every other weekend and for six weeks during the summers. They spoil her rotten.
Last year, Jenna witnessed her stepmother being handcuffed and taken away in a police car. The charge was forging prescriptions for a controlled substance -- her second felony. Although this woman has been clean and sober for six months, prior to that arrest she was an addict for years. Her grown son, his girlfriend and their baby also live in my ex-husband's home.
I am convinced that Jenna should continue living with me and remain in the school where she is enrolled. She's a good student with many friends. Now she is furious with me because I won't give in to the pressure that she and her dad's household are putting on me to allow her to move. (They've promised to buy her a car.)
Am I wrong to hold to my decision against this move because I feel it is not in Jenna's best interest? -- MOTHER KNOWS BEST IN VIRGINIA
DEAR MOTHER: Stand your ground and follow your instincts. I see no compelling reason why your daughter should be uprooted from an atmosphere in which she is thriving -- good grades and good friends -- and placed in such a non-traditional household.
While her stepmother's recovery is admirable, and seems to be on its way, there is no guarantee she won't slip. It's not a chance you want to take.