Parenting Teens

I haven’t seen my daughter for THREE days.

Ok, so that’s not ENTIRELY true. I’ve seen her, but only in passing and never her full face. And I know exactly who is to blame.

Edward Cullen.

Don’t pretend you don’t know who he is! EVERYONE knows who he is. The movie version of him passes through my feed reader 87 times a day. (Which makes me want scream. Ugh. Some men make scruffy appealing. He ain’t one of them. ) Which means, of course, that the real blame falls on Stephenie Meyer, and the Twilight series of books. I say series, because the reason I haven’t seen Peppermist, is that she’s devoured the first 2.5 books over the past three days.

Part of me is proud, of course, because back in the day trying to get my kids to read involved things like hot pokers, water torture, threats and tears - mostly on my part. I was certain that they’d NEVER read, that they’d hate it with every fiber of their being. When the switch flipped in their head though, and words started making sense, they all discovered a love of the written word. They’ve never looked back.

Which is why I haven’t seen my daughter for THREE DAYS - unless it’s with a book in front of her face. The sun is shining, and she’s curled up in the corner of her bed with Edward and Bella. Finally, I had to grab the first one and see what all the hullaballu is about. I’ve heard the trash talk, I’ve heard the massive amounts of praise, I haven’t bothered to see the movie (Betcha I’m gonna have to NOW), etc. So I picked up Peppermist’s copy of Twilight, and started to read.

And I get both sides - I can see where some would call Meyer a talentless hack, but I also see the appeal of her story too, from a very teenage point of view. (Because inside my head, I’m still 16. Or 12. What-EV-er.) Her style is not very “grown up” but it IS engaging, and she does tell her story well in her own way. Edward Cullen is not the typical Vampire we’ve come to expect from horror stories, but Bella very much is a typical outcast teen. Maybe my understanding comes from years of playing ‘against the stereotype’ characters in various Roleplay venues (yes, my geek is showing), but I get it. I’m only halfway through the first book (…I don’t have 3 days off to do nothing but read like Peppermist!) but I can get why Meyer has legions of fans to go hand in hand with her critics. I also finally know where the Lamb/Lion quote comes from. (I’ll be happy if I never have to hear it again, too!)

I still can’t get the appeal of Pattinson, but that’s OK. Maybe the movie will change my mind. Maybe he’ll… I dunno, wash or something. And maybe? Just maybe… I’ll see Peppermist again soon. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see why they wait for a thunderstorm to play baseball, and if they brought a snack.

..what?