It’s been some week for my daughter — not that she’s noticed. But as her parents, Lisa and I have been shaking our heads, renewing our vigilance, and wondering what’s to come.
Over the course of five days, three different events have happened.
1) While visiting a friend after school, she was allowed to walk to the stores in town to go buy a muffin. Two 4th-grade girls, alone. This is not something we’ve ever allowed on our watch.
2) While visiting another 4th grade friend, who (we just learned!) has a page on Facebook, the two of them spent time on FB. Again, never-ever on our watch; we’re completely opposed. It caught us completely by surprise.
3) While sleeping over at a friends house, they watched “Twilight.” Maybe not that big a deal, but again, we were in no hurry at all to cross over into that world. Compounded with the other recent events, we could sense something slipping away.
The lesson: Don’t ever let Maggie leave the house! Better yet, we might have to keep her in box, buried deep in the closet.
Under the shoes.
Maggie is not yet ten years old. And I often think the same thing when observing other families: What’s the big hurry?
Yes, these eventualities will happen, all in good time. But I’m all for holding them off as long as possible. Obviously, we’ve got to monitor things more closely, and not assume that every family — no matter how wonderful — shares the same vision for our daughter.
That’s our job.
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