Sometimes I wonder how I’m going to make it through this!
Now, I’m sure most of you will know exactly what the ‘Parent’s Curse’ is, but for those of you who don’t please allow me to explain.
For some of us we had the pleasure of having parents that thought it would be a good idea to “curse” their children with a simple phrase saying, “I hope when you grow up you have children just like you, that way you’ll know what you put me through.”
With that said, please let me shed some light on my “rebellious” teenage years. I did have a habit of breaking curfew, but I had three older siblings that helped me understand what I could get away with and how, and what I couldn’t or didn’t want to even attempt to get away with. For example, sneaking out of the house…absolutely not! Breaking curfew by a few hours, oh you betcha!
On and on the list goes. Though I made sure that my rebellion revolved around small freedoms, and as a rebellious teenager that is what’s expected….right?
Although I would pull my fair share of doosies, I was all in all a pretty good kid I would say, I didn’t run away from home and I didn’t sneak out. I didn’t throw a huge party (at my home) when my parents were out of town, I was smart and talked other friends into doing that for me, or when I got older, convinced my parents why it was more responsible of me to have the party at our home instead of somewhere else where things could really get out of hand.
Thanks to my father, I was pretty good at logical negotiation tactics which I have now passed on to my children and sometimes regret it, but am mostly thankful as they would really make great lawyers!
Moving on, normally when a parent presents this curse upon their child, it does something else entirely. It mutates and becomes a super curse, so instead of having children like you that pull the same things, your children pull your stunts and more! Or with a grand twist.
Now when I say this I’m not talking about something cute and simple, oh no, it’s gonna be big. So if you don’t have a teenager yet, then prepare yourself. And if you do, then I am sorry for anything they may have already put you through.
Now, on this note I would like to share one of the newest tricks my own fourteen year old daughter has taught me recently that I believe could benefit a few parents. Before I begin I would like to share that my daughter is very good at arguing, and not always to her advantage.
Just before Halloween my daughter was allowed to have her best friend over for a long weekend, even though she was failing school and it was against my better judgment.
As a side tip to all parents, if it feels like it’s against your better judgment, just stick with that because from my experience it generally is.
It was a Saturday night and as usual I was still running around after dark. Since it is late in the year, it was getting dark pretty early. It was around 9 pm when I picked the girls up from the swimming pool, on the way home I stopped to get some gas. As it was in between paydays and I knew I had other things I had to take care of, I only put ten dollars in my tank, bringing me to a quarter tank, that by all rights should have made me just fine over the next few days.
I went straight home without stopping anywhere else, parked my car in the driveway and all of us went into the house. I stayed up until a little after midnight before I fell asleep to my T.V. playing in the background. I awoke again around 2:45 am, I got up went to the bathroom and as I returned to my room I listened to see if I could hear the girls still up. I could hear the television upstairs till playing, and the girls making jokes at whatever they were watching, so I laid back down and fell back to sleep.
The next morning I had to go pick up some last minute Halloween outfits, because again lets face it, I’m living paycheck to paycheck like much of America these days. I put on my coat and reached for my keys, but they weren’t there and because I often misplace items I was quick to just start retracing my steps from the night before, even though I was sure where I had left them.
After about thirty minutes of searching I asked my daughter if she had seen them, to which she replied no. As I was in a hurry I grabbed the spare and ran out the door.
When I got to the car I noticed something else was amiss. My drivers seat had been moved forward all the way, I had to move the seat back to fit my butt in between the seat and the steering wheel…admittedly I did try… it did not work out.
Immediately I went back into the house and called for my daughter. She walked out of her bedroom door with her usual “yeah mom”, and so I asked “did you take my car last night?” My daughter looked at me astonished as if I had just accused her of running over my dog, ” NO Mom, why would you think that?!!?” I shake my head and just look at my daughter. I let her know what I have found, to which she states “Oh well, I took my friend out there last night, but all I did was grab her charger cord from the backseat.”
Now I need you to know, that I tell my children on a regular basis that if I am asking very specific questions, please know that I already know the truth and am giving you a chance to tell me that same truth right from the beginning. They also know that telling the truth doesn’t mean they don’t get in trouble, but the consequences are not nearly as bad as if they begin with honesty.
I look at my daughter again and tell her that if I find out she’s lying she will be grounded for a month. Without any fear or hesitation my daughter looks me dead in the eye and again says…no.
I leave again, when I get to my car I move the seat back, get in and start up the ignition. I back out of my driveway, shift my car into drive and begin slowly driving down the road.
Before I get to the end I hear the familiar ding of the low fuel light. Now livid I turn around and head back to the house to have a serious discussion with my daughter.
Once back home I pull back into the driveway and notice something I hadn’t before. There is a 5 gallon gas can sitting outside of my garage, off to the side of the door! I storm through the door yelling for my daughter to be front and center immediately. My daughter meanders out of her room and stands in front of me. I look at my daughter and tell her this is the final chance to be honest, I tell her about pulling out of the driveway and my gas tank saying it was on empty again, I let her know that a car records mileage, and I inform her that I have seen the gas can outside of the garage.
Again my daughter tries to deny anything to do with the mysterious disappearances that had taken place that morning. From the keys to the gas, no one knew what was going on. I was done playing games and I knew there was only one card left to play. I told my daughter that if she didn’t come clean and tell me the truth I would be calling her friends mom to tell her everything that I had found that morning and tell her my suspicions, then ask her what she thought happened.
I watched my daughters face go from stubborn determination ready to die with her lie, to absolute fear and horror. She had not even thought of the implications her actions could have had on her friend for just going along with the stupid idea. Instant truth followed. It came pouring out of her like mouth diarrhea. All the while begging me not to call her friends mother.
So we came to an agreement, she would be grounded for a month and complete any task I set forth no matter how crappy. She wined and moaned and groaned, but in the end she agreed. Needless to say my house and yard has never been so clean without me doing it myself!
With the parent’s curse in mind I am highly upset! I never EVER stole my parents car and went joyriding, especially at the age of only fourteen! Also on a side note please as a reader understand that my daughter has been practicing her driving skills with four wheeler’s, dirt bikes and cars since the age of 7, so I don’t want anyone to think that she’s inexperienced behind the wheel. Though we all know things can happen very quickly.
In the end lesson learned, I will not be putting the parent’s curse on my own children for fear of what it may bring about for future generations.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
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