They dress well and drive awesome cars. They hang out with their kids and their kids see them more like friends.
I also know that there are some who want only to be parents, and if nerdyness is part of that equation, then so be it.
I fall somewhere in the middle. I realize that most likely no matter what I do or how hard I try to be "cool," my attempts will be met with rolling eyes or "Stop, Mom!" While I do try to dress in style, when Robby's friend asked, "Why does your mom dress like she's in our grade?" I took that into consideration and adjusted my wardrobe accordingly.
Recently I got my dream car. Well, it's one of three dream cars, but a dream car no less. Tom and I happened upon a 1979 VW Super Beetle convertible.
We decided not to let this one go by and took the plunge. I was so excited! And to me and almost everyone I told, the response was the same -- "Cool!"
Of course "cool" is relative, generationally speaking.
When we brought the car home the boys both said that they wanted to learn to drive a stick so they could also drive it. Ah, success. They thought it was cool, too! While being cool in my sons' eyes isn't on the top of my priority list, it is a nice validation from time to time.
Tom got to work on making some necessary mechanical upgrades as I waited out the rain in order to drive the car.
The week after we got it, we were getting ready for church and when I was barking my usual Sunday morning orders to get in the car, I heard Sammy say, "We aren't taking that goofy Bug, are we?"
Wait a minute. Goofy?
Is my adorable little car not cool in the eyes of my teenagers after all? How could we have gotten this wrong? They want to learn to drive it, so wouldn't that make it cool in their eyes?
So while I've come to accept that for now I am just a huge geek in their eyes, there will still be a small part of me which hangs on to the notion that someday I'll hear those four magical words -- "Wow mom. That's cool!"
My sister says that parents shouldn’t be bothered if their kids don’t see them as cool as their friends because both have different roles in their lives. It’s true! Don’t worry! In time, your teenagers would be begging you to let them have the keys to your car. Honestly, I think it’s one way of them to say, “Mom, you have to let go of that car and give it to us, so we can look cool on our own!” Who knows, right?
ReplyDeleteLeisa Dreps