More Conversation with the Ten Year Old

This discussion came at 7:30 AM before school this week.

Daughter: What kind of weather are we having today?

Me: Same as yesterday.

Daughter: Well, what should I wear?

Me: Same as yesterday—what did you wear? Blue jeans and a sweater?

Daughter: Well, is it going to be cold?

Me: It is going to be in the 60’s, like it was yesterday. You’ll need blue jeans and a sweater.

Daughter: Well, what is the high going to be?

Me: Look at me. It is going to be cool. You will need a sweater, but you will warm up when you play outside. I do not know what the high is going to be. I do not know the exact temperature other than the fact that right now, it feels crisp outside.

Daughter: Can I wear capris? I wore capris yesterday.

Me: You need to go to your room like a big girl and get dressed in whatever will be comfortable. Now, please go so I can finish getting ready.

Moments later…

Daughter: Hey, I just have this—

Me: If it is about the weather or about what to wear, you need to stop, turn around, and go to your room to solve this problem. I already told you everything you need to know.

Daughter: No, it’s about this time, and it was yesterday, and it was kind of cool out, and I was wearing capris, and I was wondering--

Me: Nope. Stop right there. Go to your room.

I shut and locked the door, at which point my husband referred to the previous blog posting about riding the bike and started to laugh.

"I know," I said, "This is why I write everything down. The material is just too good."

John Ritter, who wrote and acted in the sitcom Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, got all his ideas by writing down everything his own teenager said to him. She would have meltdowns in her room; he’d stand by the closed door with a notebook and document. Truth is always juicier than fiction, and he knew it.

Just wait till I post our discussion about sex. It was classic.