Sweet Child O' Mine

"You two look too young to have a daughter out on a first date."

The waitress at the Mall of Georgia Longhorn got a good tip. I was stressed, nursing a beer. My wife was too happy for the occasion and it was starting to annoy me. When Bobina told our server that we needed the check because we had to go pick up our teenage daughter and her friend who is a boy at Macaroni Grill next door; the compliment soothed the savage beast inside me.

Friday, I lost the battle but won the war. My 15 year old daughter, Tay, went on her first d d d d d ugh, DATE. I grew up as a parent.

Her dress was blue and gray. Her hair shimmered in the sundown. There was makeup applied, but it wasn't too much. The number on the calendar marked one year from the day she started being friends with her friend who is a boy. Bobina started priming me a month earlier for Tay's request, a date, a real one, where they were alone in a restaurant and a movie theater with her mom and I close by; with weapons.

My blog is a record so for prosterity, I think Tay is too young to date. I was 16 when I went on my first one and I was ridiculously unprepared. I was a year removed from getting giddy over superhero comic books and saying the word boobie without doubling over in laughter. Some would say I am not removed from either of those. There are 5 people in my house. The dog thinks he's human. My vote doesn't count for much. I know living with 4 women, I have to pick my battles. Tay is an amazing girl. She makes good grades, she busts her tail being a cheerleader, she helps around the house, and when we need her, she's good to her sisters. Her friend who is a boy kinda sorta almost reminds me of me. He seems ok. If there is a 15 year old girl who "deserves" to be trusted on a date, it's Tay.

Becoming a parent of a 12 year old wasn't that big of a deal three years ago. I talked about it here: http://lance-myblogcanbeatupyourblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/currency.html . Being a parent of a 15 year old is a huge deal.

I'm uncool, not talked to often, and required to have the car ready at her word with checkbook in hand. Bobina tells me to adjust, get over it, and get ready for the other two kids to be teenagers in a few years. Friday night, I took a major step toward being over my issues and getting ready.

Bobina and I had dinner, got our egos stroked by the waitress, took Tay and her friend who is a boy to the movies, then walked around Target for a while. Getting a Superman t-shirt and toilet paper didn't make me less nervous about Tay being alone with her friend. The end of the night was anti-climatic. A thunderstorm ripped through the area bringing lightning and sheets of rain. Tay's smile and Bobina's attitude were the only thing better than the waitress' suck up.

I know this isn't the last I'll hear of Tay wanting to be more independent. She starts driving this month. Getting Friday night out of the way meant a lot to me and her mom. For me to be better about Tay being on the road by herself with a friend who may or may not be a boy, I'll need more than a flattering waitress, one beer, and an emotionally centered wife.

I feel like rocking, maybe even doing a snake dance. So, today's song is from Guns N Roses. Slash's opening riff and Axl's vocal used to mean something else to me. Now, I think about my Tay and her eyes of the bluest skies. She gets them from Bobina. They're both showing me how to be the man I want to be.

Where do we go now? Where do we go now?....here's Guns...