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Melody's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 6/27/00 -------------------- 6/18/00 6/6/00 5/19/00 5/14/00 5/12/00 5/8/00 4/5/00 4/1/00 3/27/00 3/9/00 3/8/00 3/7/00 3/1/00 2/8/00 2/7/00 -------------------- Melody's Introduction

June 6, 2000

Sometimes they band together and help each other.

Yesterday I received a phone call from one of my kids. Believe it or not, the kid was NOT a teenager, rather my 7-year-old daughter Megan who has figured out how to call people at different area codes now. How resourceful of her! Anyway, she called and said, "Mommy, don't freak out, OK? I'm going to my friend's house after school, so don't freak out and wonder where I'm at!"

I thought to myself that she sounded way too much like a teenager when she called me. Perhaps she hangs out with teenagers too much? And, sometimes I wonder what she is learning from the teenagers and it frightens me!

I admit that it's still a challenge every day, and you never know what kind of drama will come up or what mood the kids will be in. And, sometimes they fight and squabble over stuff, and I feel more like a referee than a parent. Other times, I feel more like a taxi driver and a human ATM machine.

However, sometimes, I realize that we can indeed learn from our teenagers.

Stephen, the oldest, finally got a full-time job at Pet Club. He likes the job because he can wear jeans and T-shirts to work, and they don't sweat over his long hair. He stocks dog food and cat food and is learning the ropes of working in the fish department. Melissa continues to work at Marie Callender's as a hostess -- and is doing quite well there. She is leaving for a trip to Mazatland next week. She's traveling with another family and some friends. Gee, I wish I could go to Mazatland as well! It sounds fun!

And, Jeremy, who just turned 16, announced to me last night that he has landed a job at Joanne's Fabrics in Mountain View. It's a part-time job, and he can go to school at the same time. And, Melissa's good friend Tracy works there, and Melissa helped him find the job. And, it amazes me because my three teenagers are so close, and when it comes down to it, they all help each other. Melissa helped her brother get a job. They all have mutual friends. Melissa's friend also put Jeremy and his girlfriend Chandel on a list so they can work at Shoreline and go to free rock concerts.

As Jeremy explained what he would be doing at his new job at the fabric store (which is also a crafts store) and that Tracy told him it was a great job, and even though the two elderly ladies who ran the place yell at the young ones sometimes, they are really very nice and mean well -- I saw before me a young man -- with an aura of confidence about him.

And, I had to smile when I remembered the kid who sat in the principal's office when he was in eighth grade with his arms crossed, REFUSING to take off the T-shirt he was wearing or turn it inside out because there was a picture of a marijuana leaf on it! I'm still afraid to go into a principal's office to this day! Jeremy refused saying, "I have a right to wear what I want and express myself!!!" I don't think I had ever seen a principal so angry in my life. His face turned beet red. I thought he would have a heart attack, he was so mad. I think he suspended Jeremy from school for two weeks -- just what he wanted. And, then there was the time Jeremy threw a garbage can in the classroom, and the other time he spit on a teacher's shoe, not to mention the hat that he wasn't supposed to wear in the classroom -- again, self-expression. And, outspoken -- Jeremy had no problem telling anyone where to go.

The young man who stood before me was not the same Jeremy -- but, rather a more mature, grown-up Jeremy who is getting ready to go out into the world and be a responsible young adult. And, who has an amazingly good and considerate relationship with his older girlfriend Chandel.

And, Melissa -- the Gothic Princess who told everyone off, including teachers, principals and a truant officer judge (that was scary, I'll never forget that), who I had to serve detention with -- and who was labeled as defiant and incorrigible -- Melissa is now busy getting jobs for her siblings, hostessing at a very large, complex restaurant and planning her trip to Mazatland next week!

And, Stephen whose main goal in life is to play bongo drums is still busy defining himself, finally got himself a full-time job, and he's got a car. OK, the car is in the shop, but he's got one.

I always knew that if my kids ever channeled their ideas and thoughts in a POSITIVE way, the world would never be the same again! These kids are smart. They know what they're doing.

Many people say the 60s are dead. Well, let me tell you, there's a place in Sunnyvale where people help each other in times of need and are there for each other when the going gets tough, where people don't care where you came from or what you look like, or whether you're different, where bongo drums, guitars, classic rock music, incense and black light posters still rule -- it's there, in a three-bedroom townhouse in Sunnyvale, California. You can't miss it. It's where the teenagers live. And, the legacy goes on.