I know. I, of all people,should know better. Having more anxiety about my child's grades than she does isn't a good thing. But for some reason, as the stakes get higher for my daughter (who is now in the 7th grade), the nagging Nellie inside me wants to be heard more than ever.
Case in point. This weekend, Hal was out of town and the kids and I did the usual - football and cheerleading, chores around the house, church...you know the drill. I noticed that Hannah wasn't doing any school work. That, my friends, is highly unusual.
I asked a couple of times if she needed to do homework and she replied, "There's nothing for me to do Mom." Flash forward to my phone conversation with Hal Sunday night. He asks, "So, is Hannah worried about her bookbag?" Wha????
"What do you mean?"
"Her bookbag. The one she left in my car and is now sitting in the ATL-Hartsfield parking lot. I'll be home Tuesday night, by the way."
My jaw dropped. I felt betrayed and more than a little anxious. I started to think about all the homework she had missed and all that she WOULD miss in TWO MORE DAYS without it. I began to grill Hal on the phone for details (including...I am embarrassed to admit...the exact location of the car in case I went to get the bag) and I started formulating my speech to Hannah about responsibility and getting older. Mid-rant on the phone, I felt a nudge by my side. It was Hannah.
She smiled and handed me a note. It read, "I have it all covered Mom. Don't worry."
After a brief lecture by my loving husband about the importance of staying calm (sometimes I really hate living with a therapist), I hung up the phone. I walked over to Hannah, note in hand.
She told me, "Mom. I was trying to be a grown up girl and take responsibility for my actions. I called my friends to get the assignments I could and I will take late grades for the ones I can't." Then she went back to reading her book.
It's not easy realizing that your 12 year old daughter just acted more maturely than you did.
4 comments:
Now that is funny. Lighten up on yourself, Mom.
Glad I'm not the only ScreamFree Professional who sometimes has trouble being ScreamFree!
been there- these tweens are something else to raise!
I was laughing so hard about you trying to get the exact location of H's car and my jaw dropped when I read your daughter handed you a note and how she explained what bases she had covered. Wow. Thank you for sharing this. I love it when kids blow us away b/c "more is caught then taught" so I hear.
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