Where the Hell is a Crystal Ball When You Need One?

Every time I see the movie Back to the Future I wonder what it would be like to be able to get a heads up on what's in store for me and the ones I love. As tempting as it might be to know, I'd probably take a pass if actually offered the opportunity. Because as much as I'd like to believe that that gypsy would foresee a chance encounter with George Clooney that would lead to summers spent in his Lake Como villa, I'm more afraid her visions would involve some freakish (and rather embarassing) hot tub accident. That being said, I'd be more than willing to sit down with the nearest fortune teller if she could convince my daughter that her future has more in store for her than what she's settling for at the moment. Currently out of a job, stuck in a relationship that's going nowhere and battling low self-esteem, she is ready to give up. And nothing in my twenty-three years of parenting her has broken my heart as much as seeing my beautiful, intelligent, funny child come undone. Just when she should be embracing her lack of entanglements and endless possibilities to utilize her God-given gifts, she instead dwells only on the turbulent state of her current affairs. Nothing anyone can say or do can convince her that her present pain is not only bearable but survivable. She's tried every self-help book in the library as well as visits to a therapist but what she really needs is to see her future the way all of us who love her envision it. So if anyone out there knows of a carnival heading this way, please give me a shout. I know someone who really needs to take a good look at that crystal ball.