Life with a 13 Year Old
With the Avalanche on a brief down period as they wait to determine who they will play in the next round of the playoffs, my 13 year old daughter has shifted her focus to other more important issues – filling up every single minute of her day with “stuff” to do. Today’s focus is on taking “Flat Stanley” to the Garden of the Gods. For those of you that don’t have young kids, Flat Stanley is a creative way for young children to learn about other places and other people by sending a cut out, crayon colored “Flat Stanley” to someone and have them take “Flat Stanley” on adventures. My 13 year old got Flat Stanley in the mail from one of her young friends from back in Virginia, and my daughter is committed to giving Flat Stanley the time of his life. Flat Stanley is already the luckiest cut out in the world because he got to go to an Avalanche playoff game Saturday night. Here’s proof:
Now he evidently gets to go on a hike through the Garden of the Gods.Â
So my 13 year old comes strolling into my office this morning, and our conversation goes something like this:
Her: “Dad, when can we go to Garden of the Gods today.” [Editor’s Note: It’s very hard for me to describe the first word of almost every sentence she speaks. The “Dad” really isn’t a syllable, but more of a sound that emerges from her gut. It’s fractions of a second long, and biting in tone. And equally as important, though in fact a question, her tone is never in the form of a question but in the form of a statement, as if it’s a pre-determined fact that we are going and that we will define a time.]
Me: “Sweetie, we don’t need to decide that this early.”
Her: “Dad, I want to invite friends and they need to know what time.”
Me: “Go ask your Mom; she’s the one that will take you.” [Editor’s Note: That’s always my fall back!]
Her: “Dad, Mom said to ask you.” [Editor’s Note: My 13 year old disputes this part of my story, but I’m sticking to it because that’s typically what does indeed happen in one of these exchanges.]
Me: “I’m not going to decide now.”
Her: “Fine, I won’t get you a Father’s Day present.”
It would really be cool if it ended there, because I know she didn’t mean it and I know she’ll get me something cool for Father’s Day. But I said before, she wears me down. In fact, all of my kids know that if they persist for hours, or days, or weeks, or even months, they will eventually get the answer they want. My 13 year old did the same thing. Within minutes, she was back in the office, annoying me again, driving towards that answer of a time and a commitment to go.
I gave in. I always do. I gave a time and made a commitment. Fortunately, the days are long now and the weather is warm, so it can be after business hours and when the walk will really be beautiful.