It's Hard to Be 13
I used to
take my children to a community swimming pool in the summer. They were young,
and we stayed in the shallow end together. One afternoon, four 12-13 year old
girls huddled in the water nearby. Three were teasing one--today, we’d call it
bullying. Their voices became louder as the teasing turned menacing. Then I
heard this:
Trio: “Your mother doesn't even care what you do.”
Girl: “Yes, she does! She loves me.”
I wondered what led up to that moment and what happened next.
Flash forward eight years: My own daughter turned 13, going on 35. My sweet girl rebelled, rolled her eyes, stomped out of rooms, and was generally embarrassed by me. I often thought about that day in the pool during the difficult moments. Although my daughter fought me, did she really equate my restrictions with my love for her? The vignette with the girls in the pool suggested that she might have.
Fascinating... Yes?
A universal story hides in what I observed at the pool. As a writer, I start by asking questions. What caused the group to pick on the one? Why bring up her mother at all? Why would the one be defensive about her mother’s love? What did the one picked-on girl encounter at home? Did any of the three feel compassion for the one?
What kind of story would you create based on this vignette?
And finally, how could the woman below embarrass anyone but herself? :)
Trio: “Your mother doesn't even care what you do.”
Girl: “Yes, she does! She loves me.”
I wondered what led up to that moment and what happened next.
Flash forward eight years: My own daughter turned 13, going on 35. My sweet girl rebelled, rolled her eyes, stomped out of rooms, and was generally embarrassed by me. I often thought about that day in the pool during the difficult moments. Although my daughter fought me, did she really equate my restrictions with my love for her? The vignette with the girls in the pool suggested that she might have.
Fascinating... Yes?
A universal story hides in what I observed at the pool. As a writer, I start by asking questions. What caused the group to pick on the one? Why bring up her mother at all? Why would the one be defensive about her mother’s love? What did the one picked-on girl encounter at home? Did any of the three feel compassion for the one?
What kind of story would you create based on this vignette?
And finally, how could the woman below embarrass anyone but herself? :)
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