That chasm between me and SW is growing
wide and fast… and it’s a tsunami that I simply can’t stop nor do I wish to
weather.
After practice… NN wanted to go shopping at
Valley Fair. So we went for lunch and
immediately after lunch, she pulls Joyce to go Mommy/Daughter shopping while I
was left with SW. I immediately got
worried…. And pulled Joyce aside. “What
do I do with him??” I don’t like shopping… nor do I know how to shop for a
teenage boy. She said, “You guys can go
home if you want. Come pick us up
later.” I exhaled…. and took the
opportunity to bond with my son.
I had some high hopes… went from one store
to another. Tried pointing out
interesting clothes for him to try.
Tried drawing remarks from him or things to discuss to which I was
volleyed sarcasm or silence. He seemed
disinterested in every thing I wanted him to try. Either I have no sense for fashion
(possibly). Or he has zero interest in
shopping (maybe). Or he simply doesn’t
know how to pick clothes or accept clothes his dad picks for him. And doesn’t know that he can go try-them-on and
check himself out in the mirror. Ugh…
after about 4-5 stores, I got sick of the routine. So I clammed up. I told him to lead… and I’ll follow. It got really icy. He knew I was happy… but he didn’t want to
rock the boat any further. So he
reluctantly walked around the mall a few more times. We didn’t talk. We didn’t joke. It ended with him waving the white flag….
“I’m done.” I mirrored his surrender and
decided to find a place to simply sit and wait for the ladies.
We found these soft cushy chairs in the
middle of the mall and sat down. Both of
us busted out our devices and tried to kill time. I texted Joyce, “911 – don’t know how to shop
with him.” She aptly replied… “Bring him
to me, I can take him.” I was so
despondent. I’m the “fun” parent. But I couldn’t find a way to connect with my
son. There use to be an Apple store and
Microsoft store that can help us kill time.
But that was when he was younger… without his personal device. There’s a Bowlero there…but we’re sick of
arcades at this point. So we just
sat. Sat. Sat.
Sat. Finally enough time passed
where lunch wore away… and I said, “Let’s get some pretzels.”
Anything to break the monotony of sitting….
We walked to map and looked for Wetzel Pretzel.
Found it. And I told him to
lead. We walked in circles for a good 10
minutes. After the third time around the
same section… I finally piped in. “Do
you even know where we’re going?!” And
that’s when the fun began. We found
another map…. And this map… for whatever reason… showed a different location
for Wetzel. I pulled out my phone and
found a third location for Wetzel. Ok…
confirmed it still exists. But where is
it???
SW proposed he’ll race me to it… and off he
dashed. No idea where he think he was
going. But I knew exactly where I was
headed…. The same ol place it’s been the past 10-15 years. I purposely walked slowly… to give him a
chance to beat me. After taking the
long, scenic route… I arrived there. But
SW was no where to be found!! 5 more
minutes passed and he finally called.
Apparently… he ran around the 2nd floor twice and still
couldn’t find it. Ok… the laughter came
back. The fun was back.
I guess deep down… he wants exactly what I
want. To have fun again. But he also didn’t know how. Poor guy… full fledge teenager. Wanting to be Fonzie cool… but deep down…
he’s still Richie Cunningham… looking for a thrill on that blueberry hill. Sigh…
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