What Happens When Your Teens' Texts Start Coming to You

Every mom who has ever or wanted to snoop on her teen has dreamed this would happen. Yesterday Verizon Wireless did something - I may never know what - and all of my 17 year-old son's texts started coming to me. He just started college and is away for the first time. I only know what I am told which means I knw next to nothing.

I read several conversations most about doing stuff with each other. Some more interesting than others. A photo that was certainly not meant for me.

The conversation that put me over the edge was the one with his girlfriend who is now at another college. Both sides of the conversation. They both went to college in August. They tried to break up. They got back together. They set guidelines. They will be together until they are not.

As a parent, I'm just so happy that my son's early experiences with a girl were about love - what is evidently a deep and abiding love. That's a wonderful thing.

And I was suddenly a total snoop. I would learn everything I do not know. But suddenly everything they thought, felt, imagined, wanted to do when they are in the same city, and much more, was right in front of me. I mean front and center. My phone would chime and there was more and more and more. Like mom nirvana. But when it started to get intimate I realized that it was none of my business. When did I become that mom?

I texted back to them - "I'm getting your texts." OMG came back, oops came back. Then the real response - "Who is this?"

Not only could I read everything that they wrote but they didn't know I was there or who I was. Holy canoli.

"It's your mother. Can you please make this stop?"

Another string of OMGs and I'm so sorry. Then dead silence as they switched to another medium - Skype I think. We fixed it somehow today.