Made a huge mistake this morning, driving to school with Alani and her friend Laurie in the back seat. The two girls were talking about one of their classmates at school. Because a parent was in the vicinity, Laurie went to secret code, referring to the classmate as “whathisname”, and about a conversation she and [...]
Archive for the ‘Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter.’ Category
Eavesdropping on Teenagers
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter. on March 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Ninth Grade Fingernails
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter. on February 26, 2010 | 2 Comments »
I’m standing in line to talk to the ninth grade guidance counselor at Bleeding Crown of Thorns Catholic Girls High School. Miss Guidance. It’s new parents night at Bleeding Crown of Thorns. Miss Guidance looks young. Blonde hair, hip clothes, makeup - a contrast to the nuns-in-street clothes look of most of the school administrators. In [...]
Icy Road
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized, tagged acting coach, actors, auditions, child star, cleavage, dad, director, Hollywood, moms, movie, party, Perrier, screening, surgically enhanced, t.v. commercials on January 30, 2010 | 2 Comments »
I’m at a party in Hollywood, snagging crabcakes and Perrier from the roving waiters with their little round trays. Alani got a small part in a movie. They just finished editing it, and this is the private screening party for cast, crew, and parent-hanger-ons. Most of the actors are kids, and the event is heavy [...]
Paying Kids for Chores
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized on December 29, 2009 | 7 Comments »
When we pull in the driveway, I see our empty garbage cans strewn by the curb, where the garbage men tossed them. I ask Alani to bring them up the driveway. “Are you going to pay me?” Alani asks, getting out of the car. “Yeah,” I say. “You get to live here.”
Thirteen-Year-Old Girl Loose in Detroit
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized, tagged adolescents, crowd, danger, daughter, hurt, jostling, opportunity, pained on December 7, 2009 | 9 Comments »
I’m talking to Alani in the middle of a jostling crowd in downtown Detroit. It’s an annual event, Noel Night. I’m leaving. Deborah, a grown woman who has been an extra parent to Alani since pre-k, will be with Alani and her friend Anna. But the girls are intoxicated by the night and the scent of fellow adolescents in the crowd. They are both [...]
First Grade Gunner
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized on December 4, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Jack told us that his first grade class was going to a nursing home next week to bring holiday baskets to old people. Alani was impressed. “Wow, you’re doing that in first grade?” she said. ” That will look good on your resume.” She’s not joking. When did children start worrying about about their “resumes”? And when did [...]
My Rule: No Electronics in Kids’ Bedrooms
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized, tagged bedroom, drugs, electronics, grades, loophole, pregnant, rules, study, teenage girls on November 19, 2009 | 16 Comments »
Kids are like tax attorneys – give them a rule, and they’ll find a loophole.
Delinquent Daughter
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized, tagged cashier's target, disappeared, fear, girlfriends, indignant, panic, parking lot, Targets, teach a lesson on November 9, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I’m in the Target parking lot. My daughter’s disappeared. I’m not panicked. I’m irritated.
Hollywood:Yuck
Posted in Uh-oh. Teenage Daughter., Uncategorized on July 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I am talking on the phone to a talent agent. For Alani. This same agent was not interested in meeting Alani a few months ago. But then Alani got a small part in an actual Hollywood movie, a few lines. She auditioned for it, got called back for a second audition, and got the part. They [...]
