When my kids were little, I used to take them out for dinner and afterwards I would wonder what I had been thinking. It was never calm or relaxing. The boys would be throwing food across the table or on the floor, smashing cars into each other or just plain busy. My daughter would have her nose in a book, completely ignoring us (as well she should) and I would be exhausted and would have spent too much money on food that ended up outside of a child’s stomach.
Last night I went to a movie and dinner with my three kids, my friend and his two kids (People, please go see the movie 42. Fantastic!). The 7 of us have been going out to dinner for more than 10 years now and I could write a book about the interesting “conversations” we’ve all had over the years. Let me give you last night’s list of “conversations” (please note: there were 3 teenage boys and 2 teenage girls):
1. Farting;
2. Snoring;
3. Farting with a purpose or intent to annoy family members;
4. Racism and segregation (a lot of discussions about the movie);
5. iFunny (and a demand (by me) that it be deleted from one of my children’s phone … my hawk eyes missed that one);
6. People who jump off buildings and survive (and how stupid I think that is);
7. Miscellaneous school subjects (WWII), summer camps and singing lessons;
8. Whether Freddie Mercury (from the band Queen) was gay, how he died and how cool their music was/is;
9. Which brothers are NOT going to ride in their sister’s car and if they do, what are the rules of the ride!;
10. Farting again (mine, apparently, are quite funny to the kids); and
11. How “hot” some waitress was at a restaurant in Florida.
While I’m sure I’m wrong here, my memory of being a teenager was that I listened to the conversations and didn’t say much. I would never think to talk about farting … never. I would not tell racy jokes or even reference them. Talk about drugs – not likely. And, “hot?” I would have been afraid to say anyone was “hot.” This is what I get for banning portable electronic devices and demanding face-to-face interactions!
While I enjoyed the food (albeit a bit soggy), I’m glad they all feel free to speak their minds. Plus, I really did enjoy the conversations (other than the discussion about my farting). Kids see the world in a fresher more exciting way and while I might think jumping off buildings is stupid (it’s so stupid!), they think it’s cool and it’s a good reminder that I need to clear out the old (in my brain) and bring in a bit of the new. Who’d have thought they could (or would) watch YouTube videos of Queen!???
Happy Monday!
theyearof50 