"Dddaaaahhhhhhhdddddddd. My ear is infected."
I strongly dislike piercings.
Kids discount a parent's opinion for two reasons. A parent's opinion either has no validity because the parent has no first-hand experience with the issue or the kid discounts the opinion because the parent does have first-hand experience and a negative opinion is "hypocritical".
But I do have first-hand experience with piercings; from barbed wire, nails, cut fence wires, broken glass, juvenile apricot and pear trees, multiflora rose, honey locust, black locust, black berries, hawthorn, gooseberries, chestnut husks, autumn olive, cacti, yellow jackets, honey bees, hornets, ants, spiders, drill bits, mosquitoes, deerflies, horseflies, blackflies. Yup, I have been pierced.
I am of the very strong opinion that God gave us skin to keep the parts of us that are us inside and to keep everything else outside.
"Dddaaaahhhhhhhdddddddd. My ear is infected."
An inspection from 4 feet away reveals that to be a fact.
"Dddaaaahhhhhhhdddddddd. What should I do?"
Me: "We are going to the doctor."
Parenthetical note: Whiny voice ends in "-a". Actual, phonetical fact.
Her: "Why-a? I talked to Danny at swim practice and she said I shouldn't go to the doctor."
Me: Eyebrows go "!". "Really. When did she graduate from medical school? Did she give you a reason?"
Her: "Dad. Sarcasm is unbecoming. Danny said that they always give her an antibiotic and it makes food taste funny....like there is a quarter in her mouth."
Me: "We are going to the doctor."
Her: "Dad-a. Why."
Me: "Because your Aunt Cheryl's brother died of a facial infection." He had a sinus infection, he was studying for a huge test. By the time he could not stand the pain, it was too late. In my book, any infection on your head needs to be dealt with speedy-quick. Things are just too close to your brain.
Her: "Well, I am not going. It is my body!"
Me: "Let's see what Mr Internet has to say about infected piercings."
Two sites visited. Both say "SEE A DOCTOR!" on the second line.
Her: "I am still not going. My other ear got infected and it healed up just fine!"
Me: "Let me pull up some images of what can happen to infected faces."
Her: "Oh poop! OK, I'll go to the docter."
Her: "By the way, what are 'Yaws'?"
I have determined that surviving the teen years is a rite of passage, both for teen and parent. If each can endure until the younger reaches adulthood with minimal scarring and/or irreversible damage done, the reward is licensed wisdom that apparently cannot be shared.
ReplyDeleteWhile in the middle of what seems like a bad dream gone worse, one learns to pray deeper and wider. One learns to embrace–I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me–as though it was a life raft.
By Grace alone I survived three teenagers and now I can claim to have two more (oldest grandchildren) escaped into the age of reason with several more on the cusp of the ‘dark years’ yet to endure. I’m dusting off the armor.
Few things are more satisfying than seeing your children have teenagers of their own. ~Doug Larson
An outstanding book on getting girls through that awkward age from 11 until 17 is Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher. http://www.alibris.com/Reviving-Ophelia-Saving-the-Selves-of-Adolescent-Girls-Mary-Pipher/book/5740608?matches=1084&cm_sp=works*listing*title
ReplyDeleteIt is mostly a bummer to read BUT the last chapter is a great template for how to armor girls against much of the junk, popular culture.
---spoiler---
The key seems to be twofold. One, get them into GROUP activities that demonstrate that their bodies have physical function. Athletics, band, 4H, Scouting are all good examples.
They are armored by having a similar, nerdy cohort to run around with. They are armored against the idea that the only value of their body is to be a clothes hanger and to attract the intimate attention of boys.
So far it has worked pretty well for us.
I raised two daughters and a son and I’ve been blessed to be near and therefore able to assist in raising four grandsons and three granddaughters. I can say, with a degree of expertise gained from hard earned experience, that, while some things have always been a threat, raising children in the 21st century is war. War against dark principalities that work night and day to capture and destroy the hearts, minds and souls of our youth. One must be vigilant and in touch with reality, must know what the constantly changing rhetoric really means and how to counter it.
ReplyDeleteHere’s a conundrum: modern middle/high schools have become fortresses where entering requires passing through all manner of checkpoints. But what goes on inside the nearly impenetrable walls is tantamount to brainwashing.