Keeping an Eye on Social Media
I think all of us who are parenting teens have had this talk with our kids. We’ve told them to be careful what they put out there on the internet. We’ve warned them that they should be careful what they type because it can’t be taken back once it’s sent. And we’ve all been given that look by our teens…the one that indicates they think we’re old, paranoid, and killers of their joy. When we warn them that the stuff they send via text, twitter, Facebook, and the rest of the social media avenues can harm their chances for college entry and future jobs, they give us more of the same. Mine remind me that they can control who sees what. Then I say they can’t control what the chosen people share and pass on. And I get that look from them again. Sound familiar? Well, my husband pointed out
Celebrating Success
Katie got her report card last week and it was a good one. It wasn’t straight A’s, but it was close. Way to go, Katie! Of course, I knew long before that piece of paper was in her hands what the grades were. She’s pretty good at monitoring the situation with her grades. At any given time, she usually knows how things are going with her grades. She checks in with her teachers fairly frequently to be sure she’s doing okay. She’s not a perfect student and she’s fine with a B. But she doesn’t like anything less than that. I’m lucky Katie keeps up with her work and is driven enough to take care of things on her own. So I try to be careful not to take it for granted. I try to tell her frequently how much I appreciate that report card days are not frightening days.
The High Price of Living With Teens
I’m pretty sure I am going to have to get rid of my kids. They are simply too expensive to keep. I was having some stress already about the cost of owning teens lately. For one thing, my cell phone bill is atrocious. I won’t give you any actual numbers, but for this mom, they are shocking. And right now there is only one smart phone and two not-so-smart phones on our bill. So I am in the process of shopping for a new cell phone carrier to replace the current one. Good news: I found a carrier where we can have three new smart phones for the same price we’re currently paying. Bad news: It will cost us a bundle to make the switch by the time we buy (discounted) new phones, insurance, and start-up fees. Yikes. And the cell phone bill is just the beginning. I also have
Something New and (P)interesting
Oh, my goodness. I did not need another way to waste time on the internet. That’s why I never looked up Pinterest even though I was constantly hearing friends talk about all the interesting things they found on that site. But the other day Katie told me about something she saw on Pinterest and that was the last straw. I went ahead and found the site via google search and I am afraid I am hooked. I went so far as to request and invitation to join. I may never get anything done again in my life. I have to admit I’m not totally sure how it all works. But my understanding is that it is like an online virtual bulletin board where you can find great ideas for crafts, recipes, tutorials, photographs, home decorating ideas, quotes, and whatever other ideas people have found and “pinned.” If you are not
I’m Gonna Miss This
I have a part-time job as a photographer’s assistant and I love it. We’ve recently been taking lots of pictures of expectant moms and brand-new babies. Oh, my goodness! Those pregnant moms and days-old babies bring back the memories for this mom of teens. Just this past weekend, we attended a cheer-leading competition to watch Katie and her high school teammates compete with the other schools in the conference. Part of the awards ceremony is the recognition of all the seniors on the squads. As I watched all these girls line up and listened to all their accomplishments and plans for the future, I was suddenly struck by the idea that next year Katie would be one of those seniors. I can hardly believe I have one daughter in college and the baby is only a year away from graduating. Oh, my. So, given my sappy nature, it’s no surprise
