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Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
As I sat surrounded by cards and my Fathers Day badge for being a duct tape hero, I thought about the many duties of a father growing up and how hard it is sometimes to watch your children get older.
When they are little, our biggest concerns are making sure they don’t get their heads stuck in the stair railing or that they won’t cry when grandma picks them up. But as they get older, and this is especially true if you have teenage girls, you begin to worry about other outside forces plying for their attention. Oh sure, they are young and cute and interested in the Teletubbies and suddenly they start to dress differently and flip their hair and giggle uncontrollably. No matter how many conversations I’ve had with my oldest who just turned fourteen, I can’t get her mind directed back to Barbies and Easy Bake Ovens.
No, my friends, I’ve waxed eloquently about the dangers of one wrong turn, of how tempting the freedom may seem and how just one momentary lapse in judgment can affect her for the rest of her adult life, but I’m pretty sure it went in one ear and right out the other. I’ve heard the phrase “but Dad! All my friends are doing it” come out of her mouth more than a dozen times. It is usually also followed with a comment about my lack of trust in her and how she is a good kid who makes great choices all the time.
I have seen the way she looks when it’s dangled in front of her. That silly giggle she used to get when I played “steal your nose”. The instant texting of her friends whenever the subject comes up and the sad puppy dog eyes she gives me when I try to lay down the law. Her mother thinks I give her too much leeway and I think it’s best to play my fears coyly and try not to give away the knuckle clutching fear inside of me.
It’s really no use. I can’t be there with her every second of the day and it is really hard to keep her mind occupied once she has a little experience. First it’s just a short trip and the next thing you know she is navigating four lanes of traffic on the freeway during rush hour.
Yes folks, my name is Weez and I have a teen daughter who is now driving. You’ve been warned.
See you next week….remember, we’re all in this together.