[Blueface]

Pete,
I had two incidents I considered kicking my daughter out.
On the second one, I did.
I now regret it.

My daughter was a challenge since 16.
Tried to OD. Will never forget the day I found her in the bathroom floor and drove at over 100 miles per hour the two miles to get her to the hospital down the road.
Had her Baker Acted, which was a very tough decision to make.
Lots of counseling.
Packed up and moved out at 18.
Back at home again within 9 months as could not afford it as she thought she would.
Then, within a few months, pregnant.

I was just so flustered at that point that I threw her out.
I immediately reconsidered my actions based on anger primarily and took the approach of support and dialogue.
Seems that when I stopped being an authority figure with her and acted more like someone that truly cared about her, it broke her down and let us finally into that tough closed world of hers at the time.

We now have a wonderful grandchild and a great relationship. My wife and her have more dialogue than in the previous years all summed up. At 22, she is now a great mom, hard worker, back in college, and looking to keep her family life with her baby's father in tact.

Point of all this "personal" stuff most won't share is we all go through these tough hurdles in one form or another. I think what I learned is the more I was tough, with no illustration of empathy, the less it worked. Once I took the "guidance" approach rather than the "authority as your father", we finally got through to her.

You have my number. Call me any time to talk if you need to. Man have I been here where you are now.