My sons are embarrassed to be seen with me and it’s getting me down

DEAR DEIDRE: WHILE I’ve always tried my best to be a kind and friendly person, I’ve always felt like the odd one out.

Whether it’s my family calling me weird or my son’s being embarrassed to be seen with me, I constantly feel misunderstood.

I’m a 45-year-old single mother to two sons. One is 15 and the other is 16.

I’ve always been the first to admit that I'm a little bit eccentric, but my family has never understood me, and it’s always left me feeling a little bit like an outsider.

I’ve grown to accept that, but now that my sons are getting older, they’re becoming increasingly distant.

Whether they’re avoiding bringing friends over the house or removing me as a friend on Facebook, I'm convinced that they’re embarrassed of me.

Just last week, when I picked my son up from a party, he made me park a street over so he wouldn’t be seen with me.

It’s really getting me down.

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DEIDRE SAYS: When it feels like your child is embarrassed by you, it can really hurt, especially if you’ve got past wounds of other people making you feel this way.

As hard as it is, try to remember that this is a normal part of a teenager's transition into adulthood.

This is often because they’re trying to separate who they are in public from who they are at home.

Try to be patient with them, and I’m sure they will come back around eventually.

My support pack Troubled Teenagers? will help you navigate this time.