We’ve just had Memorial Day and my eighteen year old rookie dater managed to finagle an invitation to the young man’s parents’ house. She went over in the early evening and his brother and grandparents were also there so she managed to meet a large portion of family. She stayed for an hour or so, came home and then he came over for a few minutes to sit with us, house hopping, what young people do best….
This is what I did: While putting on appropriate music in the master bedroom (adjacent to the lounge), the young man arrived. I decided it would look better if I made an entrance into the lounge from the garden, as if I had been watering, rather than from the bedroom, as if I had been napping. I wandered outside from our office, picked up the watering can and watered the tomato plants, then I casually approached the garden room door at the other end of the house, accessible to the lounge, only to find it locked!
In the meantime my family inside were commenting amongst themselves, in front of the young man,
“Hey, there’s Mum! What’s she doing out there?”
Without missing a beat I meandered back to the office only to find the interior door to the bedroom had self locked, so now I was stranded on the outside!
I picked up the phone and called the house. Hoping for discretion I was dismayed to see my youngest walking through my bedroom door, giggling hysterically. She pushed the sheers aside and opened the French window that led to our office,
“What are you doing out here Mum? Do you honestly think we believed you were watering the plants at this hour?” she said.
I ended up having to enter the lounge from the bedroom anyway. My tactless family! I revved up the accent a notch and hid behind my English-ness to account for any eccentricity that could be read into my actions. The young man seemed unfazed, he rose from the couch, extended his hand and said,
“Pleased to see you again, Mrs. McNeny” (groan…on my behalf!), “your garden looks beautiful at this time of night.” We shook and smiled.
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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