Knowing she was scheduled to have a half-day of school on her birthday, Skyler asked if I would take her and her bestie to the mall when I got home. She vehemently did not want her brother to be in the same mall that she was in. I vetoed that explaining that she would just have to breath the same air and get over it. We got to the mall, had lunch, she and her friend consulted their magical network of friends and discovered that two other besties were IN THA HOUSE (they probably didn't say that, I'm so old and lame). I agreed that they could go off together if they agreed to check in. And just like that poof, they were gone. I'm so glad Zack did come with us because I had someone to hang with. I wasn't just the pathetic teen-taxi-driver my daughter thought that I was.
You see only a blur they were off that fast. |
We discovered this day, that she is of equal height to me and not even close to done growing. I'm the short one in the family, further diminishing my weight as an authority. It's a different experience telling your taller-than-you child that they will do as you say "or else". We all have this air of "we'll do it because you're Mom, but 'or else' what?" As though, if they were to challenge me, what would I do? My primary currency is the iPhone. Threaten to take that away and they might just offer up a limb in trade.
After the phone call that made mothers all over our city grown with pain at the fact that school was closed again on Friday making this an entire unplanned week of "vacation" Matt spontaneously suggested that Skyler invite her friends to sleep over. This one and that one? Yes sure. And this one and that one? Yes sure. He assured me that he was in control, he had this, I need not worry. He speaks Skyler better than I do these days. Not a minute after they arrive, Matt was struck sick with stomach pain so fierce he was writhing on the floor. It's something I might have pulled myself if I had been left in charge of five little eye-rollers but I think he might not have been faking.
As the girls were settling down for a movie marathon, they began with their nightly rituals of tooth brushing and face washing and they all came into my room to show me the special lotion and face wash that H had. I said "oh yes, I've told you to wash your face every night using..." "MOM - I want this one. The same one that H has. Here take our picture with it."
So, although every teen I've known for the past 30 years has been using Neutrogena and I have suggested it to Skyler before, now that this particular formulation in this particular bottle has been best friend approved, she will wash her face with it nightly. I'm going to have to start manipulating the friend influence somehow.
The good thing is that my dear thinks-she's-grown-girl has the very best of friends. I know this because four of them slept on my living room floor last night and just as when they were tiny babes and we looked over them thinking how adorable they were when they slept, this morning I too looked at these creatures who had given me a thousand eye rolls just yesterday and thought "awww aren't they sweet".
Happy Birthday dear Skyler. I hope we both make it to the other side of the teen years with our sanity in tact.
yeah that's my kid licking her friend |
#favoritethingsfebruary #skyler #twelve #birthday #sleepover #mall