There Comes A Time When...

We Must Embarrass Our Children.

My daughter is not embarrassed of me yet, but I will never forget the day my dad became embarrassing. I was about 13 years old, and I was walking home from school with my friends. We were total dorks who loved listening to "Thriller", and Madonna's "Lucky Star", and were overall spoiled brats of the 80's. Well, this one particular day, as we approached my house I noticed a very strange object sitting at the curb in front of it, and so did my friends. It was a toilet. Our toilet, and the whole neighborhood could see it sitting right there on the curb. I was suddenly overcome with embarrassment.

To make matters worse, my friends found it strangely hilarious, and were laughing and laughing, and then HE came out of the garage. My dad. He was wearing his overalls. This was in 1983 when no one wore overalls except farmers, and we lived IN the suburbs minus any farm animals. Oh and they noticed the overalls too, oh yes they did. I laughed too, but I found it such an embarrassment. I said my good byes and approached the house. I walked up to my dad and said hello, and then I whined, "DAAAADDD, did you have to put the toilet out here right now? HOW EMBARRASSING! Everyone is walking home from school and can look at our toilet" Of course he found this extremely amusing. Luckily he had a thick skin because I also informed him that his choice in clothing was very embarrassing too!

Oh boy. Did I open a can of worms. After that it was him threatening to put another toilet out with a sign on it saying it was my toilet so everyone could see. Then since the city bus went by our house every day, and sometimes my dad would ride the bus I swear just for the fun of it, he would say, "Oh, all of the bus passengers were asking if that was your toilet out there" So, I would retort, "Yeah, well, when I left for school there were some bus passengers lined up out there waiting to use the toilet" and of course he would practically fall over laughing. I think we went on like this for years. In fact, I could probably still get him to laugh really hard if I brought it up today.

I got over my silly embarrassments, but it took me a while. Now I see how childish it was, but I was a child so I guess that's normal for some kids.

My best friend since third grade has kids who are at that age where they are sometimes appalled that they are related to her. Most of the time they think she is swell, but sometimes they get embarrassed of her too. I know my time is coming, and honestly, I am kind of looking forward to it. I will have power again. Mwahahaha.

So, this morning on the phone my friend tells me how absolutely horrible it was doing the school supply shopping. She said she ended up going to 7 different stores in search of the demanded items, and she says she they ran into a lot of her daughter's classmates and their parents. She says, "my daughter got embarrassed though because I was really hot all day so I put on some socks with my sandals."

I burst out laughing. "Oh, please tell me you weren't wearing the black socks." Sometimes after work she will go home and throw on some shorts and she and her kids will come over and spend the evening at my house, and there have been a couple of times she has been wearing black socks with tennis shoes and shorts!!

One night I said to her son, "I thought she promised not to wear the black socks with the shorts again." He said, "I thought so too, but I guess not today" and we would tease her about it.

So, she says, "No, I wasn't wearing the black socks with my sandals, just some regular white ones."

"No wonder she was embarrassed, did you have on the yellow sandals with the white socks?" I asked. Yep, she did. I need to get her to send me a picture of this look so I can post it. I'm telling you it is funny.

"But my feet were so hot and tired and sweaty, I needed the socks." She explained.

"I understand" I said, and we both laughed about it. We laughed again about it tonight when she came to visit it was just funny.

Anyway, the next few years are going to be fun with the kids. Their ages right now are 12, 13, and 14 so we've got lots of good times ahead.