Today, I hit a parenting first.
I gave our newly-minted teen permission to join a couple of friends at
a mall.
I recognized the friends' names, but I still had questions, and you
can believe I asked them. I really tried not to make it too taxing on kiddo --
I still recall the millions of questions I got from my mother every time I
wanted to do things. Happily, we've enjoyed some technological revelations
since then — like mobile phones and GPS.
Perhaps the biggest motivator for me was having answers to the questions
my absent wife might ask. I damn sure was not going to get mama angry at me
for letting her go without copious detail backing me up. I copied down as
much info as I could about the kid whose parents were driving — well, I got
as far as the phone number when the kid texted that they were out front.
Coat on. Shoes on. Not just kiddo — ME TOO. I went out to the car to say
hello and thank the dad for shouldering the responsibility. Then when I got
inside I scribbled down his name and a description of the car.
I figure that as these trips become more common, and the parents of her
circle of friends become known, I won't have to go to measures like these.
But I'm a first-timer here. A first-timer with a brand new teen in a metroplex
of 8 million. In the town where I grew up, we had two malls — one was popular
and one wasn't. Not with kids, anyway. That mall was maybe three or four miles
from our house, an easy drive. One story, with department stores on either end.
This place? The mall has valet parking, and its shops aren't exactly Spencer
Gifts and Things Remembered — they're more like... places I can't pronounce
with items I can't afford.
I had even written down what kiddo was wearing. I was not messing around.
I helped her organize what to bring, and wrote that down, too.
When mommy radioed in from her shopping trip, I gave her the scoop, and
probably volunteered more information than I should have. Turned out she and
her girlfriend were headed to the same place. I texted her what kiddo had on,
and even gave her the mobile number of the friend she was with.
I'm sure I probably recorded way too much metadata in preparation for the event.
But, in my defense, she was about to leave in a car with people I haven't met for
a giant mall I don't know well and am not sure I could even get to. I figure spending
some ink and paper and asking a question or two is a small price. I made certain
though that I didn't give her the grilling I used to get.
Besides... *Opens Find My Friends app on phone*... there's no need.
|