Hello there, awesome Moxie-Dude readers!
I’ve been trying to write this post all day and FINALLY I’m able to put aside a few of life’s obligations and get down to the bones of writing. (By the way, this is what happens when I don’t write first thing in the morning. It also explains why the hamster usually has me tossing and turning at 2 a.m. until I either get up to write or pull a muscle.)
Since I spent a lot of time cooking on Monday for Canadian Thanksgiving, my daughter and I decided that “we” deserved a break from the kitchen and went out for dinner last night. Just the two of us.
And if you read this post, you know that she’s a teenager and therefore often falls victim to the mood swings so popular with that age group. That said, any “quality time” spent together is either hit or miss, depending on things like hormones. And the moon.
As we were walking into the restaurant Samantha was suddenly worried that they wouldn’t let her in because she was wearing a pair of funky leggings. She felt “inappropriate”.
So while my mouth told her to relax since anything is appropriate when you’re a paying customer (except maybe killing the waitress), the hamster went into serial analyzing mode because WAIT! YOU’RE A TEENAGER AND TEENAGERS TODAY THINK THEY RUN THE PLACE.
And of course by “the place” I mean your house . . . my house . . . THE WORLD.
Suddenly I was in a dilemmac position between encouraging confidence and teaching respect.
PS. We interrupt this post to point out that apparently “dilemmac” isn’t a word, which totally makes me question the people over at Oxford because clearly you understood what I meant since you’re HERE and not sticking your nose in a dictionary. All those in favour of adding “dilemmac” to the next dictionary update say . . . Oh never mind. They don’t listen anyway.
So there we were, in what I would consider a “hit” situation because so far the hormones were at bay and the only interruption was when her father – my ex – butt dialled me by mistake. (Yes, James. Your butt does that. A lot.)
What do to . . . what to do . . .
Part of me always wants to promote individuality and freedom of spirit. At the same time, there’s another part of me (the “mom” part) that wonders about the balance between teaching self-assurance and respect for others.
This is what I pondered as I took forever to read the menu.
Finally I looked up and said, “Sorry it’s taking me so long. I just can’t decide what to order.”
To which my sweet daughter responded, “Take your time. I love it when we go out just us.”
That’s when I realized that so far she is totally getting the “respect for others” thing.
Fingers crossed.
I love this post – maybe because I have teen-agers but they are both boys so while I have some similar situations they are also very different!
The biggest thing in my world (and I rarely show the restraint you did!) is hearing “I Know” about everything – if you know then why are we having a repeat of yesterday’s conversation?!
They are such weird creatures! I can say that cause I have one. My son is so talkative at times and then the next minute, mumbling incoherently, uugghhh! That’s nice that the 2 of you got out and she enjoyed your company, good job Mom!
Teenagers are a mystery to me. I have two and one almost there. One minute you’re their best friend ever (because you gave them money, did something for them, let them borrow something, etc etc) and the next you are the meanest mom ever and “how could you do that?” I can’t keep up. But the good moments do make it worth it. Last night I went to my son’s game and I was the only parent that made the trip (usu there is a few). Afterwards he thanked me for coming and then proceeded to ask me if we could follow the bus because they were stopping for dinner and frozen yogurt. Being the nicest mom ever, I did it, and then of course I jokingly reminded him that I was the nicest mom ever. He looked at me with a smile and said “I have selective memory.” *Shaking my head*