Morning Thoughts

The wind woke me this morning. It was howling outside and rattling my bedroom window. I'd been dreaming of Meagan. She was at the theatre last night to watch the play with her cousin, Sherri. After the show, I exited the change room to find Meagan waiting in the hall. I hugged her tightly.

"Hi Scout! It's great to see you. Did you enjoy the show?"

"Yeah, Dad. It was pretty good. But there was a big, fat guy in front of me and I couldn't see very well."

Sherri and I laughed and I hugged my niece as well. It's really nice to have fans in the audience. I suspected they'd made it to the theatre when I heard a loud cheer as I took my final bow at the curtain call.

Anyway, my girl was on my mind when I first opened my eyes this morning. I'd been replaying a conversation we'd had in the car last weekend. We were on our way back to Norval after dinner last Sunday when she broke a comfortable silence.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I get a tattoo?”

“No.”

“You have tattoos.”

“I didn’t get them til I was 35.”

We discussed waiting until you really find something you know you’ll like. Forever. We talked about how interests and passions change as we get older. And we discussed the very permanent nature of tattoos.

“But if I got something that I grew out of, it would just be a memento of an earlier time in my Life – a time when I used to like childish things. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, Dad.”

She cannot see things the way I do. She hasn’t lived enough yet, although she thinks she has.

“I’ll tell you what, Scout. If you promise to wait until you’re eighteen, I’ll take you myself to a tattoo artist and pay for whatever you want. How does that sound?”

“Mum could take me. She took me to get my lip pierced. And my belly button.”

I was suddenly angry. Really angry.

“If Mum takes you to get a tattoo, I will FREAK OUT on her. She won’t even know what hit her.”

After a moment of awkward silence, Meagan said, “OK. You made your point.”

I had been harsh and threatening and when I spoke again, I tried to soften it.

“If you wait til you’re older, Scout, I will pay for your tattoo. And I promise I won’t speak a critical word about it. Deal?”

“OK, Dad. That sounds pretty good, I guess.”

I still don’t think I won her over, Ms J. She sounded a bit conciliatory, but at least she’d agreed to wait.

You know, it's a very frustrating thing that kids have such crazy ideas, and even moreso that they believe so strongly in their right to make their own decisions. God help them. And God help their parents.

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