I’ve mentioned before that my kids are spoiled, right?
They are. Extremely. That’s OK. They’re nice kids.
If they want something, they go on a mission until we tire, give in and buy it for them so that we don’t have to hear about it anymore.
Or, they save their money, beg to be driven to a particular store and they purchase whatever it is, themselves.
In certain cases, certain children just make a certain phone call and it’s a done deal.
We, however, drew the line at cellphones. No amount of begging, saving money or phones calls work.
Cellphones had to wait until middle school. And even then, they had to be earned by making the honor roll and having little to no missing homework assignments.
Last year, while I was at Blogher, my stepdaughter got her cellphone. She completely deserved it. Her grades were amazing.
This year, my daughter, a 6th grader, worked her tushie off. She struggled and succeeded. The honor roll was made and maintained. And I couldn’t be more proud.
We won’t talk about the boys of the house.
So, we took my daughter to the AT & T store by our house.
She picked out her LG neon green smart phone. It was cheap, by the way. A perfect phone for a kid who wants some bells and whistles and a full keypad for the almighty texting! But, without the iPhone/Blackberry/Droid cost.
It was activated.
She brought it home.
And she began texting.
And texting.
AND TEXTING.
Everyone.
All through the day and into the night. Because hey…we have unlimited texting on our family plan.
Which brings us to last night.
It was once again…Poker Night at my house. Have I mentioned before how I hate poker night? Yeah, I hate it. It’s smelly, loud, messy and SMELLY.
My friend came over with her husband.
He was going to play poker.
She and I decided to take a walk up to Kohl’s, which is about 1 1/2 miles from my house. A quick walk. Without kids. And without having to listen to the guys and their poker noises.
The texts started.
“Mommy, I’m bored.”
“Mommy, my brother is being a brat.”
“Mommy, when are you coming home?”
“Mommy, why couldn’t I come with you?”
“Mommy, I need Soffee shorts and tanks.”
“Mommy, will you buy me shorts and tanks?”
A non-stop barrage of texts. On and on and on.
At first, I was texting back…I HATE texting.
Then, I stopped.
Eventually, I stopped taking my phone out of my pocket to see what she was complaining about.
Unlimited texting.
Apparently, that’s code for “drive your mother absolutely insane while she tries to get a few minutes away from her kids”.
Yeah, I’m proud of her good grades, I think they are awesome. I think she is awesome.
I’m thinking that we should have held out longer with the cellphone thing though.
I’m thinking I may have to start using a certain feature on my phone called the “off” button. It’s free AND unlimited too!
Oh, I do not look forward to that. My daughter is only 4 years old, and uses my old cell phone to “talk.” We even keep it charged for her so she can hear the ringtones and see the pics. It’s bad. Her begging will probably start in the 1st grade…
LB´s last blog post ..Memoir Monday- Talladega Nightsand Days – Part 2
Maybe now is the time to talk about being annoying. LOL
Jennifer´s last blog post ..You didnt really ask me that- did you
Flip side: it’s awesome that she is testing YOU when she could be texting anyone. That says a lot, Melissa. She sounds like a terrific kid. Good work.
Kami´s last blog post ..Central Air Envy
And by testing I meant texting. Damned autocorrect.
Kami´s last blog post ..Central Air Envy
LOL! Sorry had to laugh. My son prefers texting to talking so much I had to cave & get myself a text package since I couldn’t afford to open & respond to his texts otherwise. But from what I understand – the girls are MUCH more into the texting….
Gigi´s last blog post ..Its better than coffee-
My daughter has unlimited texting on her phone.. I don’t. If I go over my limit because of her texting me, she has to pay the overage. Just a thought….
Congrats to her for making the honor roll.
Tara R.´s last blog post ..Building a bridge
So I clicked on your blog from over at Party Girls, read the first post, and had to comment. Lemme tell ya, teenage boys with cell phones aren’t a whole lot easier. Date night is constantly interrupted with crap like “Dont forget the Hot Pockets!” or “Can (neighbor kid) come upstairs and play Playstation?” or “Jake won’t stop calling me (insert teenage boy insult)!” or “Can I use the stove?” Yay. Big Sarge and I have finally implemented the Blood-Or-Bones rule. If it’s date night and you feel the need to text, there better be blood or bones showing!
Future Twitter user.
found your site through link referral!! Couldn’t favorite you or offer my critically acclaimed review…due to that insane 24 hour rule. Just wanted to let you know….I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!
Roschelle´s last blog post ..So If This Ends Badly
My two oldest just went to visit my parents. So my husband and I thought that we were going to have a week with no fighting. Yeah right! Until they started including me in their fights via text! UGH!