Seeme, I've seen you write that about "room on the floor" before. I liked it then and I still like it. It's a smart idea. You're right, they are our lives, but we want them to have their own lives and stand on their own two feet, or as you said, get back on their feet and on their own again.
most of their 1st's can be our worst fears--because they can get hurt
yet if we start at an early age in giving them choices of things that aren't important life decisions(what to have for lunch)it helps them to learn that the decisions they make have consequences--hot dog vs grilled cheese--the big ones will be easier for them
when my daughter was 15--the person that was supposed to give her a ride home got drunk--because we had always dicussed drinking and driving she called me to pick her up and didn't care what anyone else thought about it--and i made sure she knew how proud i was of her
kids are our life--i've told anyone that i become involved with that there will always be room on my floor for either his or mine---the reason for the floor is once they leave if they really need to come back--i don't want them to get tooooooooo comfy--get on your feet and on your own again