Friday, July 10, 2009

Sweet Justice

I know! I haven't announced the Appliance Poetry Slam winner yet! Mostly because I cannot figure out how to get a picture of the poll results pasted into my post. Also? I haven't thought of a prize yet. Give me a couple of days, all right? I'm not good at this sort of thing, the way the Big Dogs of mommy blogging are.

The head cold from hell is still here. I run around for an hour or so cooking, doing dishes, cleaning up; then I fall onto the couch and languish until I'm able to get back up again. My kids don't even notice. To them, I'm so old I'm almost dead anyway, right?

But before I put the other foot in the grave, I would like to share with the other mothers of teen girls out there an infrequent moment of sweet justice. You will recall the illuminating discussion I had with Anna about dental hygiene as she was packing for her European vacation. You know, the discussion during which she claimed not to need to floss?

Well, Anna had her biannual (biennial?) dental appointment yesterday. And when the dentist (who was, by the way, young and good-looking and therefore sure to be listened to by an enamored teen girl) looked at her x-rays, he said, "You know, there are weak spots here between the teeth that could turn into decay - you really have to pay attention to the flossing."

Be still my heart! I could have kissed him.

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By the way, I was sure at least one commenter the other day would come up with a good (clean!) answer for "How many teen girls does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" The answer in our household was one, plus a teen brother. Yup, Theo had to help her out in the end - he said she had the bulb screwed in wrong. I didn't even know that was possible.

And for anyone who thinks I'm being mean by advertising Anna's ineptitude in this matter, let me explain that she prides herself on acting clueless. This affectation of ditziness extends to all areas of her life, from math (which she is actually quite good at, making her vapidity all the more puzzling) to the proper way to put on her seatbelt. Considering that, when I was a teen, I prided myself on being smarter than smart (because, let's face it, at that point in my life my SAT scores were all I had going for me), I can't help being puzzled by her wanting to appear as brainless as a Playboy Bunny.

Just part of that adolescent brain-drain, I suppose...


6 comments:

  1. I have a teenage son who is the same way!!! the reason he acts so stupid is because in his eyes it is cool, and then he can get people to do things for him that he acts too stupid to do for himself! Drives me nuts! I am hoping one day a really cute girl will come along and tell him she likes smart boys. Until then, sigh I guess I am on my own.

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  2. Oh hooray for cute dentists who agree with mom!

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  3. Can you email me the poll results? I know you know how to do a screen shot but perhaps you are wanting to edit off the stuff around the edges? I have a program I can do that with and email it back to you.

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  4. My younger daughter does this, acts ditzy or clutzy when she really is not. I was a clutz and it's nothing to fake, believe me.
    Maybe it's just an attention thing?

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  5. Ah, yes - those teenage girls! Mine doesn't so much "prider herself" in being incapable. I'd classify her behavior as simple lazy. She truly does not CARE about things like crusty dishes left in random places, tripping over things strewn on the floor or strange smells wafting from her room. I have to admit, she knows I will eventually break down and take care of things when they reach a critical level. It HAS gotten a little better since my "taking care of it" means I simply gather everything up and dump it in the neares wastebasket, though...
    It was sonice meeting you last night!

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  6. AnonymousJuly 11, 2009

    Leave it to a cute dentist to get the job done!
    My SIL was an acting dumb blond all through high school when she was dating my brother; to her chagrin, my husband remembers those days well and occasionally gives her grief for it.
    I thought you did marvelously last night for someone who has a head cold from hell! I'm so glad to have met you. :)

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