From the mouths of former babes

[slipjig3]

While I was hanging out with the young'uns over the weekend, I unexpectedly stumbled over one of those parenting milestones I try not to run into when I'm not looking: now-15-year-old Girl-Child lied to my face to get some alone time with a boy. As I said to figmentj, "Awww! They grow up so fast!" Fortunately it was a relatively mild infraction—this was a "yes, his mom will be home to chaperone even though she actually won't be" sort of lie, and not an "I'm going to sneak out my bedroom window at 1 a.m. so I can get to third base down at the overpass with my 20-year-old biker boyfriend you don't know about named Snake" sort of lie. And she had the presence of mind not to argue the punishment or bewail the unfairness of it all, although she was none too happy. Most fortunately of all, as Kristi and I conferred on after the fact, she's not a very good liar. (Fortunately for us, anyway.)

Also, I actually got a few thousands words of work done on The Noise of Endless Wars this evening, which shouldn't be an uncommon enough achievement to warrant mention on LJ, but I'll take my victories where I can get 'em. Only a couple more chapters to go, I keep telling myself between Tullamore Dew shots and crying jags, because THAT'S WHAT WE WRITERS DO. Boy howdy.

Comments

[gows.livejournal.com]

I figured that if I ever had kids I'd teach 'em to lie really, really well. OTOH, I am sneaky like a motherfucking ninja--so if they managed to get past me (while lying about it), they'd get off scot free. If I managed to catch them in a lie, however, the heavens would fall and the seas would boil.

. . . after all, the corporate world does encourage tricky fuckeryness. And if you can keep ahold of the details enough to get by anal-retentive parents who are on the lookout--well, you deserve to be applauded, Reynaud.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I suppose that does fall under the heading of Necessary Subversive Life Skills, doesn't it?

on an unrelated topic

[maverick-weirdo.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine finally sent me a link to 44 Philosophers I also recommend listening to Tyrannosaur's Lullaby

You are welcome

Re: on an unrelated topic

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's so much better than mine! *laugh* Thank you!

[brujah.livejournal.com]

Teenaged girls, oy. Every time my daughter behaves like I did, I want to demand from my parents an explanation of why they didn't just kill me when I was young. ;)

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

See, now, I was actually nothing like that growing up; I tended to be the Good Kid, which meant I was a bit of a depressive drip. Whole other set of problems there.

[brujah.livejournal.com]

I was an early physical bloomer, but a late emotional bloomer if that makes sense? I had boys hounding around all the time, but I was oblivious. My parents? Not so oblivious. I could never understand why they'd get mad at me for things like shorts or whatever. I was going for comfort, they were going for "PUT SOME DAMNED CLOTHES ON!"

I complain about my daughter's recent foray into dating, but honestly.. she's just turned 18 and this is her first 'real' relationship. I count myself lucky.

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

YAY for the writing!!! *happydance*

Not so yay on the teenage stuff. I presume you've had The Talk with her?

(I never got The Talk. My sister got pregnant and had a kid out of wedlock at 16. I got to see it all firsthand at age 11, and I helped raise my niece for the first three years of her life. NOT a technique I recommend, though the story may be helpful as a life lesson for others.)

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

She's gotten the Talk several times over, including two different classes at school and one through her church. At this point we pray for a good head on her shoulders and cross our fingers.