Mother Feels Overwhelmed by Teen’s Reaction

Dear Eric,

I have a typical 15-year-old daughter. She means everything to me, and I always try to support her. I do this knowing she often responds with the usual teenage aloofness. Normally, this doesn’t affect me much.

Recently, she wanted money to spend while hanging out with friends. There was a contest at my workplace for creating a safety-themed drawing, with a $100 prize. She decided to participate and asked for a picture related to my job. I arranged for someone to photograph me in front of one of our machines and sent the image to her.