I’ve been spending lots of time on the net. Reading lots of blogs. Trying to figure out twitter. Still don’t get it. I have RSS on my blog. But I have no clue what it means. Finally found the meaning of “hash-tag”. Had fun making a contribution to #LiesPeopleAlwaysTell (Those jeans make you look slimmer – oh the ways in which I amuse myself.) Even giggled a bit at the word hash. Had to post it on FB - Wow. How hash has changed since I was a teen. Speaking of teens, that’s the point of my post tonight. For two reasons. First because so much of what I am trying to learn is so foreign and new to me. So, this must be what a teenager feels like as they try to meander their way through life, no longer a little kid, but still largely lacking in experience of any kind. And second because as I hop around Blogville I notice so many blogs on parenting young children (so many of them SO funny I might add) but I have yet to come across too many parents blogging about their teens. They’re probably out there and I just haven’t found them yet. Or maybe not. Parenting teens is not always a blog-worthy experience. I have two sons. My oldest boy is 15. He is a good kid. Nice kid. Doesn’t go out too much. Hasn’t wrecked my house or stolen the car yet. My liquor bottles are all accounted for. But still. Something happens to teenagers. I’m not sure exactly what happens but I’m going to tell one short story and then you decide.
My son went away with the school band for the day to play in a concert. On these occasions all the kids are dressed up – black dress pants, white collared shirt, tie, black shoes. When the teenager arrived home that day he had his winter coat on and a hat (it was very cold being winter and all). I looked down as he took off his shoe. Yes. I said shoe – as in singular.
Me: “Where is your other shoe?”
Teenager: I lost it.
Me: WTF? You lost one shoe?
Teenager: Well I forgot my dress shoes so I only had these (looks down at running shoes). When it was our turn on stage I took my runners off because I had black socks on so I figured the teacher wouldn’t notice that I forgot my dress shoes.
Me: But why did you come home with only one?
Teenager: I put them to the side of the stage and when I went back there was only one.
Me: So you rode back on the bus to your school like that?
Teenager: Yeah.
Me: And you walked home with one shoe?
Teenager: Yeah.
Me: But it is freezing cold out today.
Teenager: Well I didn’t step in any of the puddles.
Me: (silence)
And this, my dear friends, is the teenage brain fast at work. Yikes. Give me strength.