Naive, yeah sure

My niece and I were coming back from BHS yesterday - getting the keys to my new room - and "Staying Alive" came on. I thought, "Hey, l've never watched Saturday Night Fever; it'll be a laugh." So there we were anticipating polyester suits, flashy light dance floors and gyrating hips. We got, well, we got a little bit of reality. I have to admit: I'm a naive little sheltered white girl in a lot of ways. I couldn't believe that I was sitting on the couch next to my 15 y/o niece watching this stuff. I mean, even Travolta's character - the lead guy I was expecting to love - was a jerk! No no, not just a jerk... but a womanizing prick. I kept waiting for a miraculous 180 and all of the guys to suddenly realize the error of their ways. And the movie ended; my jaw was still dropped.

I look at Ash - and I realize that I knew all along that this sort of thing exists. I just didn't want her to realize it. And I could either try to ignore what had just happened, try to sweep it under the proverbial rug, or I could seize the opportunity to talk about the issues. And once again I'm amazed - she's one smart cookie. No, we didn't have one of those Photoshopped conversations where everything is discussed in the perfect way and everything turns out perfectly... in fact I realized for a split second how terrifying it would be to have my own kid that age - I was crap at this serious talk stuff... but within the conversation that we did have I realized that Ash is a lot smarter than I, or most of her family, give her credit for. I couldn't hand wrap all of the wisdom that I've accumulated over the years. But I know she'll be able to walk this crazy tightrope and find that wisdom on her own. And I guess that's a little bit reassuring.