I feel bad for my youngest daughter. She is 13 years old and the only child still at home. This poor girl has to live with a boring old fat guy. Most days, I can tell that she needs interaction with more than just me.

The women at church have been wonderful. Several have taken my daughter under their wing and given her opportunities to interact with people who might be a better influence for her than me. Unfortunately, my daughter seems to have picked up my military-inspired dark humor. For example, we were talking with someone the other day and I mentioned that my mother had passed. After this person expressed their sympathy, my daughter looked at me excitedly and said “Hey, now we both have a dead mom! Twinsies!” While I thought it was hilarious, people with civilian sensibilities tend to not appreciate it. So she needs to be around people more normal than me unless we plan to only hang around with veterans.

What really clued me into the need for my daughter to spend time with good women was when one woman from church came to visit briefly. My daughter had been moping all day, but as soon as this good woman came in, she lit up. I was so happy to see her light up like that, engage with someone, and be happy. It was such a stark difference that I want to have these good women over as much as possible.

My fears related to this are multiple. I fear that over time, the help and attention given my daughter will fade. People will go back to their normal lives and forget about us. Second, I fear people might start thinking I have ulterior motives in wanting these women (all of whom are married) around. I don’t have ulterior motives at all, but I fear rumors and gossip.

My last fear is related to this. What do I do when my daughter wants to have a friend over? Now it will just be a single dad in the house with two teenage girls. I fear rumors and gossip, or worse, false accusations. I don’t want to restrict my daughter’s social life, but I also don’t want my life ruined. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I have ordered some interior security cameras which will allow me to record the inside of the house. My hope is that I can prove I did nothing wrong if anyone makes an accusation. Am I overreacting? Are my fears unfounded? What else should I do? I could really use some help with this one.