My guest blogger today is my co-editor, Cheryl Clemens:
This is what driving in the car with my 14-year-old daughter is like:
Me: Don’t touch the radio.
Luci: But there could be a good song on another station.
Me: This is a good song.
Luci: (Snorts in disgust.)
Me: This is The Boss. Come on! This song takes me right back to 10th grade. (I start singing along loudly to “Hungry Heart.”)
Luci: (Rolls her eyes and sinks further down in her seat.) Wish I could go someplace else right now.
Me: Just listen. It’s a classic song.
Luci: I can’t. My ears are burning.
This is what driving in the car with my 16-year-old is like:
Me: How was work today?
Danny: OK.
Me: Anything exciting happen?
Danny: No.
Me: So what was the best part of your day so far?
Danny: I don’t know.
Me: What do you think we should have for dinner tonight?
Danny: I don’t know.
Me: Is anything going on tonight?
Danny: I don’t know
On the other hand, this is what driving in the car with my 7-year-old daughter is like:
Me: How was your day, peanut?
Rosalie: It was the best day ever. I got to go babysitting with Luci and she took me and Erin to the pool and we pretended we were animals and then we just jumped in the water a lot and I’m getting really good at handstands but sometimes I still get water up my nose because when you are upside down water gets in there really easy and then it feels like you can’t breath but I guess you can’t really breath underwater anyway unless you are SpongeBob but that’s not really true either because sponges can’t breath underwater because he’s not a real sponge because he’s a sponge like the ones in the kitchen and everyone knows they can’t breath even if there is a cartoon of one who can because that’s not real.
So here is my question: How does a child go from I-never-stop-talking-and-want-to-share-everything-on-my-mind-with-you to I-can’t-believe-how-uncool-you-are to near silence – in nine years? And can anybody clue me in to when (if ever) I’ll have a normal conversation again with one of them?
thanks for the reality check Cheryl – my oldest is almost 7 and definitely at the Never-Stops-Talking stage. I’ve been wondering if I’ll ever get a quiet hour, but need to remember there will be too many of those all too soon.
Glad to hear Rosalie isn’t the only one. You know what’s ironic, Kirsten? My youngest did not talk at all as a baby or toddler. It took two years of speech therapy to get her on track for school. She’s fine now but sometimes, when she is talking away, my husband and I look at each other and say, “Remember when we used to pray that she’d start talking?” Careful what you wish for!
Cheryl
Sniff. My 8-year-old has progressed straight to the 14-year-old stage.