Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Do you know where your teens are?

I'm at work. My kids are not, because they have been off since Erev Yom Kippur. That's right, until the end of the Sukkot holiday. Isaac and I haul ourselves off to work and leave the beauties slumbering away. Doesn't seem very fair, does it?

It's about 12:30 PM. My cell phone rings. Ahh. I think to myself, one of the beauties has awakened:

Tali: Mommy, what are we having for dinner tonight?

Me: I dunno.
(suspiciously) Why?

Tali: Can I eat Burger King?

Me: Burger King? Where are you?

Tali: I'm at the mall.

Me: The mall? There's no Burger King at the mall. You mean McDonald's (which just became kosher in Modi'in).

Tali: No, I mean Burger King.

Me: But--

Tali: I'm not at the Modi'in Mall, I'm at the Azrielli Mall in Tel-Aviv.

Me: Excuse me? Who are you with?

Tali: I'm with [my friend] Monica and Liat and Talya [Liat's friend].

Me: Noone asked me about [getting on a train and] going to Tel-Aviv.

Tali: I thought Liat told you.

Me:
(somewhat annoyed) No, she didn't.

Tali: Oh......well, can I?

Me: Can you what?

Tali: Eat Burger King.

Me: If you are old enough to find yourself in a mall in Tel-Aviv, I think you're probably old enough to figure out what to eat. I'll see you later.


About 30 seconds later my phone rings again.

Me: Hi Liat.

Liat: Hi mommy.

Me: You failed to mention your little excursion to Tel-Aviv.

Liat: ממש שכחתי. I totally forgot. I'm really sorry.

Me: I just like to be informed, Liat, of where your adventures are taking place.

Liat: I know. I'm sorry. It was a very spontaneous thing. You would have let me go, right?

Me: Yeah, but usually it works like this: The kid calls the mom and ASKS, very politely.

Liat: It won't happen again, I promise. Can we see a movie?

Me:
(dumbfoundedly)which one?

Liat:
(pause) Uhm. It's called The Hangover.

Me:
(laughing) I don't think so.

Liat: What if Talya's mother says yes?

Me: Then Talya can see the movie. Do you know what it's rated?

Liat: No. Maybe R.

Me: Yeah, well.

Liat: Okay, mommy. I love you.

Me: Me too. See you soon.


Gotta love life with teens.

16 comments:

OneTiredEma said...

"If you are old enough to find yourself in a mall in Tel-Aviv, I think you're probably old enough to figure out what to eat."

I totally agree :) Hope they took enough money--I hear BK is a fortune!

Mrs. S. said...

It's official. Your kids' klitah is 100% complete. Mazal tov!
:-)

Karen said...

I'm sure mixed with your annoyance was pride in their independence. Admit it.

Rachel said...

I'd comment but I'm laughing too hard!

Chag sameach

Unknown said...

Being that I am the mother of a 13 month old, I feel slightly faint after reading that little one-act play. You wake up and your kids can be in a different city? Thanks for the heads up!

Was pretty funny, BTW.

Shari

Anonymous said...

Sounds like my 16 year old, except she usually forgets to call me, forgets to leave her phone on, and forgets to give me her friends' numbers. She's totally unreachable and blissfully unaware.

Commenter Abbi said...

Yes, I agree with Mrs. S, sounds like your girls are totally Israeli- independent enough get around on their own but still dependent on Mommy when it comes to food!

Gila Rose said...

wow. i love this glimpse into my future your blog provides :)
in the meantime, could your kids take my kids next time they go? they're great on the train and yaakov even knows i keep my credit card, so he'll spring for BK.

Anonymous said...

The joys of being the mother of teenage kids!

SuperRaizy said...

I can SO relate!

Baila said...

Tired,

They took enough money--their own money at that. And Tali decided against BK saying it would have cost her 38 shekel when pizza only cost 15. Which begs the question--would she have made the same choice with MY money?

Mrs. S and Karen,

Definitely getting there. And I do feel good about it.

Rachel,

Glad your amused. And how are YOUR kids? :-)

Sharijo,

13 months! What a great age! Enjoy it.

Tessya,

I know what you mean. We've lost control, haven't we?

Abbi,

Tali asked me about BK bec. she was concerned if she ate meat, she wouldn't be able to partake in the ice cream sundaes I serve for dinner.

GilaRose,

And your blog brings back memories of my past! :-) I'm sure the girls would have no problem shlepping your kids to TA, 'specially if they're treating to BK.

ID,

Indeed. It is light and joy all the time at Casa Baila.

SR,

I know. ;-)

kathleen said...

The teenager years are all coming back to me now...And I have 3 more to go. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet!

Robin said...

My kids are still young enough that a big adventure for my oldest is going down to the corner store by himself. I am nowhere near ready to contemplate malls, let alone trains!

On another note, you mean they didn't have school at all this week? Why on earth not? A 2.5 week vacation less than a month into the school year? 10 days for Sukkot is quite enough thankyouverymuch.

RivkA with a capital A said...

LOL!!!

Have had similar conversations about movies with my kids!

(the ID check for this comment had me type in the word "tough")

Pesky Settler said...

My oldest turned 18 this past August... So I can't play the 'you're not old enough to see R rated movies yet' card.

However she sees reason when I say I don't think the content is appropriate for her.

Most of the time.

Jenny Sassoon said...

I really enjoyed this interaction you had with your teen! Sound like casa Baila is a fun place to come home to!