Caught in My Own Web

Last week I caught my teenage daughter sending text messages to her friends that were surprisingly honest and kind. She was telling them about a struggle she's facing at school, something we've talked about but never really shared with others. At first, I felt proud, until I realized I'd been secretly reading her texts for weeks under the guise of monitoring 'safety.' I stopped cold turkey after seeing how genuine she could be without my hovering. Now I feel like an invader in her privacy, and a bit sad that I needed to spy at all instead of just trusting her.