Okay, so I know we are in a generation where we as the parents are raising kids that can basically work a phone when they are still in the cradle. It is a tad overwhelming at times, because it isn't a subject that I can discuss with my own mother. She had a whole laundry list of issues raising me, that we will discuss at a later time. However I can promise "proper cell phone etiquette" was not on that list.
My daughter has an Iphone now. Yes I said it, an Iphone. Now she does have a pretty strict set rules that she has to abide by on it. It does not stay in her room at night, she charges it on the counter. She has to have my approval on contacts in it, and when I want to look at her phone she can not argue with me, plus several more. I explain all of this to let yall know about our hilariously embarrassing encounter the other morning.
My alarm goes off and I reach over my sleeping dog to grab it off the night stand and turn it off. She awakens and stretches out, demanding a belly rub before I get out of bed, I accommodate gladly because she is cute and I can't help it. Stumbling through the kitchen on my way to the coffee machine, I grab Kylies phone off the counter. My coffee brews and I take it and my daughters phone back to bed. Its the weekend and my lessons dont start till 10:30 so I am going to enjoy a cup of coffee before I go out to feed and get ready for the day. It is now right at 6 am, and I turn the news on to listen to the weather and unlock her phone and go to text messaging.
The first text message is from a new number, I open it and it is from a friend of hers with an ambiguous name that could be a boy or a girl name. "hey Kylie this is ****"
My heart hit my stomach, gah this had better not be from a boy!!! I can not handle her starting to be interested in boys at this age!! Hell, I just got okay with her having a cell phone. It is now 6:02, and I swing open her bed room door and ask her who **** is?!?!
She sits up and looks at me with sleep in her eyes, "MOM!' she exhales with exasperation! Sitting up she catches her breath, because lets face it, I just scared the ever loving crap out of her and her dog. Its takes her a few seconds to comprehend the question I just leveled at her out of my own curiosity and anger for not knowing who it was. Its my friend from school, you have met her before!! Several times in fact!! We lock eyes and now I am kinda embarrassed, because realization has started to dawn on me.
"Well okay then" I mutter a tad sheepishly and try to back out of her room like I didn't just bust in there like the kool-aid man from the 90's. She is now staring at me a tad frustrated, "you wanna talk about anything else since I am up now?!?!" she is basically growling at this point. "Hmmm, no maam. Im good, you wanna go back to sleep or maybe have me make you some breakfast?"
Kylie has rolled over in bed and covered her head with a blanket, I hear from under the comfortor, "I Love you mom, but you are so extra sometimes!" You have no idea baby, I mumble under my breath and back out of her room.
The Serenity prayer has started to sound more like a chant in my house lately. Especially that last part. Trying to find the wisdom to help my daughter grow into a well mannered and respectable young lady is rough when all sorts of new technology and social media is at her finger tips. All I can do is continue to teach her what is write and wrong and know that she will figure out the difference or accept the consequences. In the mean time I will try my best to keep my reactions to things a little less "Kool-aid man from the 90's" and more "Mother Theresa in understand and compassion."
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.
