Unfair Tests
My 20-something children test me in ways I never did my parents. They expect me to keep up with major cultural and technology shifts, know some trending songs, and recognize famous celebrities. And to have a sense of who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out’ (or worse, ‘irrelevant’).
I struggle with these responsibilities. The other day my daughter played a movie clip and asked me what gaming system the main character was using: I didn’t know.
Another modern parenting challenge is choosing the right images to include with texts to our children. It’s vital to pick culturally current GIFs or emojis – or, if not current, at least one with the right kind of irony.
No wonder so many of us parents are constantly nervous.
Most times, I do all right. But recently, my daughter sent a text with an unfamiliar emoji: white and brown, with green leaves at the end. A garden planter, fallen on its side? But the image was narrow and shaped like a cigarette. Wait – a joint? Sure, I’ve smoked weed in the past, but I’m not about to start referencing the devil’s lettuce in communications with my kids. They wouldn’t do that to me…would they?
I responded carefully to my daughter’s text: “Not sure what this is. Did you mean to send it to someone else?”
Within seconds her three-dot, ‘wait for it’ reply bubble appeared:
“Mom, don’t you recognize it?”
I wasn’t ready for a test – it’d been a long day.
“?” I answered loudly.
My daughter replied with a screenshot of the text I sent her days ago, which included the same leafy graphic.
“How about Mexican food on Wednesday?” I had asked, then included a burrito emoji.
ANECDOTE
