母亲常会和女儿说：“你不能那样穿！”但在我和女儿这里情况却反过来了。在女儿想把褐色头发染黑时，我对她说：“你看我把头发染成紫色怎么样？那可是你爸爸最喜欢的颜色……”

The true meaning of the bumper¹ sticker, which says, “Live long enough to embarrass your kids” has new meaning once you have a teenager. My daughter just turned 15 and suddenly I am now the most embarrassing person she can be seen with. Rather than take this personally I have decided² to revel³ in the power it gives me.

Of course many of you have had the “You aren’t wearing THAT” argument but I turned the tables on my daughter. She was wanting to wear midriff tops and tanks with bra straps⁴ showing … both of which I had been carefully taught were fashion no-no’s. The other day I picked her up from school and stopped at the grocery store. “Mom! You can’t go in dressed like that!” “I am staying in the car!”

Imagine ... a 50-year-old dressed just like her 15-year-old, and she does not want to be seen with me. Well ... I admit the embarrassment⁵ was worth every moment...she has now dressed a bit more conservatively. She HAD to go in the store with me as it was too hot to sit in the car. It was a priceless moment that also was a bit cheeky of me to enjoy so much.

Recently she wanted to dye her beautiful auburn hair black. Yes she has naturally beautiful auburn hair but wants it to be black because she states, “Auburn is SO boring!” Of course my reply, “Oh my gosh … women all over the world for die for your hair!” was ineffective, however, as I plopped the box of purple hair dye onto the counter and said “Sure, just as soon as I am finished dying mine purple.”

Yep, the purple dye sat on the counter ... I had called her bluff⁶. “Perhaps if we both wait a couple weeks and you still insist on dying your hair black, mine will be purple just in time for me to chaperon your next school dance. That is coming up in two weeks, right? I bet your friends will think I am the coolest mom there!” She is visibly cringing⁷. I can see thoughts racing⁸ through her mind. Her mom with purple hair at her school dance.

I am praying, please, PLEASE don’t dare me to go with purple hair, but I stand firm. “Yes, I think I’d be pretty with purple hair. It is Dad’s favorite color.” She knows it really is his favorite color. Finally she shrugs⁹ and says “Nevermind.” Whew ... she changed her mind. I am so relieved but I keep rambling¹⁰ on about purple hair as she leaves the room.

She knows I would do it. I have done sillier things to prove a point. I am not sure how long I can keep this up. I am praying she does not ask about piercing next, but I have already asked my husband to pick up a pamphlet from our nearest piercing place, just so I can whip it out and show her which one “Mom” might get, too. Of course she may never go that far. I am hoping ... praying ... and a bit nervous. When “Mom” wants to do it too—suddenly it just isn’t that cool.

Yep ... I can be pretty silly. Looking at life with humor makes it bearable sometimes. It isn’t all fun and games.