It’s a parent’s responsibility to embarrass his or her teenager. Right?
I’m right, aren’t I? I’m almost sure I’m right.
This morning, all 5 of us pile into the car at 6:45AM to head off for our day. Three kids get dropped off at three different places, and then Bill and I go on to work.
The first drop-off is the teen, which is a good thing because she’s surly and I’m not sure I can take much more of her in the morning.
Especially this morning.
The other two are well rested, exuberant, and ready to play. There isn’t much to play in a Toyota Camry stuffed with five people, but we manage to start a game of Pink Tree Purple Tree.
Don’t worry that you don’t know this game – it’s an original, made up by a four-year-old mind. It’s loosely based on the game Yellow Car. Surely you know the game Yellow Car. No? Well, that’s why Google was invented. Go look it up, I’ll wait.
So there we are playing Pink Tree Purple Tree when Bill (who is too competitive for his own good, I think) tries to call Purple Tree but clearly he’s fudging the game rules. The tree wasn’t purple at all. It was actually closer to burgundy.
Suffice it to say we get into a little tiff about the rules of Pink Tree Purple Tree and whether an almost-burgundy tree can possibly be counted as a point. (It can’t. I’m quite sure he’ll come around to seeing that my way at about 10PM tonight. Don’t ask me how I know this.)
By this time, we are approaching Sarah’s bus stop. She’s surly and doesn’t fully appreciate the game Pink Tree Purple Tree, or her exuberant little sisters, or her parents who are willing to debate just about anything. Poor girl.
We pull to a stop to let her out, so she can stand among her surly friends and wait for the bus with more surly teens in it. As she exits the car, she gets in a parting shot. “You two are WEIRD.” she says while rolling her surly eyes.
Bill looks at me and I nod. He rolls down the window and screams out (loudly enough for the surly friends to hear), “Don’t lick any cats today, OK, Honey?” Then we drove off.
That, my friends, is MY definition of how to start your day off right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is actually a piece I wrote elsewhere last spring. This morning, I was admiring the trees all blooming and blossoming, and instead of reflecting on the beauty of them, I reflected on the morning last year when we told our kid not to lick any cats right there in front of her friends.
And I smiled.
OK now that is super funny.
Love this! I dread the day my son is embarrassed by us but then that’s what parents live for ain’t it? At least according to my parents, so I will carry on the tradition proudly.
good LORD am I glad I read this today. I really needed a laugh and that whole scenario is just perfect. Thanks.
I’m hitting you up for ideas when my kids hit junior high. Although right now my daughter is finally reaching the point where she is embarassed when I hug her and kiss her dropping her off at before-school care.