Summertime and teenagers…ah, I remember my own teenage summers when it seemed that the months stretched out in front of my like a vast opportunity for socializing, play, making extra money and getting to do whatever I wanted. Now that I am the parent of three teenagers slacking their way through summer, I find that keeping track of everyone is nearly a full-time job. Every day (or the evening before if I know I’ll be out the door before anyone is up), I hear myself asking each of them: “What is your plan for the day?”
More often than not, the first response I get is the proverbial, “I don’t know…” but inevitably, with a little prodding, I can get something out of them. Something might be “nothing,” but at least I can get an IDEA of where everyone might be for the coming 12-14 hours.
The most common response I get to the “What’s your plan for the day?” question is something along the lines of “I’m hanging out with…” (fill in the blank with any number of names, nicknames, mutations of names I sort-of recognize, etc.) Of course, I am well aware that teenage plans are subject to change at a moment’s notice (usually 3 or 4 times before they even leave the house and then there is the evolution of one thing leading to another that happens once they get out into the world), thus we have the notes and the phone calls. It is not usual for me to get two or three phone calls in the course of the day letting me know what the change of plans might be and asking whether or not X,Y, or Z can stay the night or come home for dinner?
I’m trying to keep a handle on things–at least a little bit. And, I try to bury my envy–I can’t help but get a little jealous at the leisurely life of the teenage and wish that someone might ask me, “What’s your plan for the day?” and know that I didn’t have to answer: “work, parenting, work, grocery shopping, errands, and, uh…work.”
Also: Getting the Teens to Talk to Me–it’s Feast or Famine
You Can Sit Here But Don’t Talk to Me