Thursday, February 28, 2013

Raising a Teenager is Like Nailing Jello to the Wall

I know it's a cliche saying, but what is it with kids today?  My 12-year-old daughter is not even a teen yet, and ... well, I'll let you read the conversation from about a month ago ...

Driving her home from school, she is chattering away on her cell phone.  Not an uncommon occurrence, in fact it's fairly typical.  The nice thing is she doesn't (yet) feel the need to hide what she is talking about.

"You want to walk down the hall with him, right?  Well then, run into him on the way to class, and then ask him a question that it will take him some time to answer.  Boom, you are walking to class with him."

This perks my interest.  Now I'm focused on what she is saying.

"No.  No, you absolutely do not hug him first.  You let HIM hug YOU first."

Just now I'm pulling into the driveway.  I hear, "Ok, I gotta go.  See ya later."

I park the car and just sit there for a moment, trying to figure out how to ask about this overheard conversation.  I decide to be casual, and refer to a movie we had seen together recently.

"Do you have any idea how much you sounded like Hitch just then?"  She laughs.  Then I ask the question I'm sort of dreading.  "How do you know so much about dating anyway?"

She shrugs.  "I know a lot of people who date.  And I watch a lot of romantic comedies."  She gets out of the car to head into the house, and I am left counting the days until I am doomed as a father.

****************************

A few weeks later I hear her talking to the friend to whom she had given the advice.  I know they are talking about some guy.  After the friend leaves, she tells me it's the guy her friend is "going with".

"Well, is it the same guy you gave her the advice about?"

"Oh, of course it is."  She smiles and bends over her laptop to finish her homework.

When did she get so grown up?




1 comment:

  1. This is the payback all grandparents love to hear about.

    Love you all - Mom

    ReplyDelete