My Teenage Daughter : A weekend party

Last week, Anissa asked permission to go to a party Saturday night with her Pep Squad friends. My first question, of course, was ... whose party? I prayed and crossed my fingers that it won't be one of those "open" types. It wasn't. It was the 18th birthday of a team mate. Whew. It was looking good for her. 

2nd question : where is it going to be held and what time? The venue was one of the buildings in Ortigas Center and the party was from 7pm to 1am. Looking even better.

3rd question : are you riding with someone or should I take you? The answer, at first, was the former. Then I decided I wasn't going to do anything anyway and it would be good to know exactly where the party will be. Hence, this conversation

Me: I'll drive you and Sam to your party nalang tonight. Anissa: Huh? 
Me: What? I'll drive you there.
Anissa: And?
Me: I'll drop you off nga.
Anissa: Drop us off like ... in the lobby, right? 
Me: Yeah, where else? 
Anissa: You're not gonna park and then go all the way upstairs with us, right? 
Me: No, Anissa. I'll park the car, we'll go upstairs, we'll walk into the room and I'll announce that I'm your Mom and that if anybody gives you a drink or gets too close to you, your whole body will emit an alarm and I'll come running back with a bazooka. YES, I'll drop you off at the lobby and then disappear! Duh! (into the Starbucks nextdoor ... meron kaya?)

HAHAHA

HAHAHA

HAHAHA

I love teasing her this way. It's so natural for me to do this and I guess she expects it everytime. I was just saying it though. I never would get in the way of her having fun. Unless, it's absolutely called for. I know how it feels to be the odd one out. So like I always say, if it's within my boundaries and reason, she's free to enjoy her teenage years. 

I had to stop myself a few times from texting her to check if everything was going well. But at close to midnight, when I was starting to get sleepy and I knew I had to stay awake til 1am, I sent her a message.

Me: Are you drinking?

(about 10 minutes of silence ... me constantly craning my neck towards the nightstand to see if a reply had come in from her. then finally, my phone goes off.)

A : I drank 2 shots but after that iced tea na.

(2 shots of what??? i started to semi-panic. she's 16. she's still a baby! then i tried to recall what it was like when i was 16. no way. i never tried alcohol until i was in college. but then again ... people always say, it's not fair to compare because I'm from a different planet, errr, generation. so I calmly texted her back.)

Me: What exactly did you drink? 2 shots of what?

A: Just a mixed drink, Mom. Like a punch. The only reason I drank it is 'cause all of them were saying it wasn't strong at all. And they were right. I'm okay.

Me: HAY. (but that was really more, "Hay, you're so grown up na. Hay, it's painful to hear that you're out there discovering things for yourself and I can't over-react because you might not tell me about it next time. Hay, ang hirap maging magulang.)

Needless to say, she got home in one piece, with stories about the party and what they did. No mention of boys, so I didn't pry. I trust that she would've told me. I won't deny that I really, really wanted to ask. I just didn't want her to feel that I was being too nosy. She's a teenager, she'll have the tendency to think that way especially of her own mother.

HAY. 

Ang hirap maging magulang.