Road Trip Revelations


Recently my hubby Chris and 15-year-old son Josh took a road trip across the state together. It was a long drive, and at one point Chris said to Josh, "I'm getting tired here, I need you to talk to me for a while."

Josh dutifully unplugged himself from his iPod and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I dunno," Chris said yawning. "Um…why don't you tell me the first thing you'd like to do when you get your driver's license?"

"That's easy. Take Cutegirl* out on a date," Josh replied without hesitation.

WHAT?! When Chris shared this story with me, my jaw fell open. Since when did my son like some girl enough to want to ask her out on a date? And me with no clue this had occurred! Of course, in typical male fashion, Chris couldn't provide me with any of the details I craved, such as Cutegirl's* name, how Josh met her, did Cutegirl* know he liked her, etc.

Josh has always been open with me and a great communicator. So for the next few days I waited patiently for him to divulge this latest tidbit of news to me. But he said absolutely nothing about it. Nada. I refused to take this sitting down. I didn't want to divulge that his dad had shared this info with me so I tried a different tactic.

Sauntering up beside him after school one day, I casually said, "Soooo, buddy. Anything new going on in your life?"

"Not really."

"Nothing interesting or new you'd like to share with your ol' mom?"

"Uh…nope."

Humph!

I was really getting frustrated. Then, one afternoon, I got an unexpected break. As Josh was chatting away about his day at school, he mentioned the names of some kids he'd been talking with between classes. One new name in particular jumped out at me and I immediately latched on. "Who?"

Interrupted from his flow of chatter, he looked at me blankly. "Huh?"

"Who did you just say you were talking with?"

"Boy, Boy, Cutegirl*, and Boy."

Bingo! "Who is Cutegirl*?"

"Oh, you don't know her. She's just a girl I had in my old Basket weaving* class."

"Oh." Expectant pause…

Undaunted, he continued on with his story without expanding on this babe at all!

Humph, again!

Not to be thwarted, I did what any normal, nosy, busybody mom would do. I secretly snagged his old yearbook and searched for Cutegirl*. Since I only had her first name, no luck. But using my highly honed undercover investigator mom skills, I turned to Facebook, and… Gotcha! I studied her profile pic. So…okay, she looked like a nice girl. Now I just needed him to tell me all about her.

More impatient waiting. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. While he was doing homework and I was sitting beside him pretending to edit something, I blurted out, "So, are there any special girls you're interested in?" Oh yeah. I'm the essence of subtlety.

He looked over at me. His gorgeous brown eyes wide, "Um, no offence mom, but I think this is the sort of thing I should really be sharing more with Dad."

Oh the pain! I clutched at my heart, reminiscent of Sanford in the old Sanford and Son series. "What do you mean? What are you saying? You've always been able to talk with me."

"I know, but…" he squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. "This is different, it's guy stuff."

"Well fine!" I huffed. Then I sniffed. "Doesn't matter anyway. I know who she is."

He frowned at me suspiciously. "Oh yeah. Well, what's her last name start with?"

I stated a letter, and his eyebrows shot up. "It does start with that letter! What does her first name start with?"

I stated another letter.

"Dad told you!"

"No, he didn't," I said airily, preparing to dramatically sweep from the room. "I guessed it from other things you've shared with me. You know I do actually listen when you talk."

Now it was his turn to Humph! He grumbled for a few seconds but I could tell he wasn't really mad. And I think he learned a valuable lesson as well. Don't mess with the mom. Don't bother hiding stuff from the mom. She's way too much of a nosy, busybody to keep things from anyway.

Humph!
*Certain names and details have been changed to protect me from my son's wrath should he ever actually read my blog.
Image by Frapestaartje

19 comments:

Kristine said...

Very cute story Holly! One minute you're taking them home from the hospital, and the next, they're causing YOU to go to the hospital with worry--between driving, dating, etc! Hang in there:)

Susan R. Mills said...

Is this what I have to look forward to? My sons are 13 and 11. So far, they talk to me. It will make me sad when they stop.

Unknown said...

I love your investigative skills, tracking down the girl on face book. That is hilarious but really is the best place to look. I'll have to remember that for when my twenty-year old accidentally divulges the name of a girl he is interested in.

NanaRuth said...

Good luck to you, Mom. Your son is obviously becoming a master of the "male" monosyllabic mumbled response. They begin in their teens with single word responses and gradually develop the skill to a set of uh-hums and grunts as they grow older. I heard a rumor that it originally was developed on Mars....

Theta Mom said...

Wow, is this what is in store for me? My 4 year old doens't shut up and I kind of like it that way!

Blia said...

Hahahaha...you are good, Mom! I'm so glad my boys aren't big enough yet to feel like they need to hide things from me. Even Kal, my ten year old (who's only experienced crushes at the moment) has been pretty open about his little "girlfriends." You can read about his story here: http://superheroesmom.com/2009/11/28/of-acorns-and-broken-hearts/

Great story though! Am following you now.

Camryn said...

So SOOO funny! I would do the same thing! Hey there--visiting from MBC--I found you in the writer mom's club.

This post was great. I can so see myself doing the same thing, taking the snooping up a notch and checking her out on facebook--that made me laugh out loud.

Aspen Real Life said...

I am so grateful that my oldest son is only ten knowing that these teenage years are around the corner.

I am fortunate that the boys go to a small school for we learn about the crushes through the moms.

It just so happens that there is a mother with three girls, all the same ages as my boys and each girl has a respective crush on each of my boys.

My son wonders how I know so much and I will never reveal my secrets!

The only time he really talks to me is when I am putting him to sleep, then I can't get him to be quiet.

Name: Holly Bowne said...

That is so true, Jillian! My daughter is like that at bedtime. It's often pretty late, but that's when she wants to talk. So I sit on the side of her bed and listen. We've got to make the most of these moments as they come along!

Cascia Talbert said...

Wow, what a neat story. I don't have any teenagers yet, but I do have two boys. So this is what I get to look forward to when my boys are teens.

Thanks for stopping by Healthy Moms!

Theody said...

Thanks for sharing Holly. Now if only my son could stay 4 yrs old....LOL

MrsBlogAlot said...

I absolutely loved this. Great post!

Don't mess with a Mama's detective skillz (-;

Now I gotta go try to stop time before my heart breaks in five billion pieces when my son does that to me in the future!

The Single Mothers Chronicles said...

HA! You got him! Now, I am a person who accepts reasonable boundaries with most people...but I seem to have that nosy gene when it comes to my daughter too! It's obessessive and will not back off.
Too bad for her.
Swati

Organic Motherhood with Cool Whip said...

Oh my! The horror! The horror! I am always envisioning the day when my little boys grow up and don't want to tell me things anymore. I know it is right around the corner. Your story perfectly encapsulates this moment. What an amazing writer you are. And what a great mom too. It sounds like your son was secretly happy you had figured out his crush. How sweet!

I found your site on the aspiring writers group on MBC. Love it! I am following you now. Please come by and visit me sometime too:

organicmotherhoodwithcoolwhip.com

Vivianne said...

This was a great post! I felt like I was right there. Get ready for the onslaught as he gets older, Mommy!

I have to say though they are really starting young these days. My five year old is a master flirt. The other day he told my daughter to act "cool" around him because a store clerk was gushing all over him! I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Heidi Willis said...

Great story!! My son is 11 and talks endlessly to me. He barely takes a breath. I know the day is coming when that will stop.

I'm clutching my own heart at the thought..

Michelle Zhang said...

Does that mean you'll LET him go on a date with "Cutegirl"? 'Cause if the answer's yes, I'm jealous. (With my luck, I'll be restricted from dating until my old 'rents die off. Not that I want them to...) However, the same's with girls too. Obviously, I'd feel more comfortable talking to my mom about stuff like this rather than my dad...

Name: Holly Bowne said...

No need to be jealous, Michelle. There's no dating allowed yet! ;o)

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

Mine just breezed through the kitchen. He's 15 in a week and asked if he can go on a double date. Yikes! I like your term for cutegirl.

Thanks for the twitter follow.~~Dee