Silliness

I am not sure what it says about me that my mom was up on a fad that I knew nothing about.  But I guess when you are the grandmother of 10, soon to be 11, grandchildren you pick up a few things along the way.  Like when you visit your grandchildren in Atlanta and notice they are obsessed with silly bandz.

She bought a thing of them for Isabelle the other day.  I had no clue what they were, had never seen or heard of them.  They certainly looked "silly" to me.  She puts a bunch on Isabelle and I think they look ridiculous.  My order driven daughter proceeds to spread them out across her entire arm because she can't handle the mess of them bunched up.  She shows absolutely no signs of knowing what they are.  As we watch Isabelle spread them along her arm I suggest to my mom that they might not be right for Isabelle.

Yet in the car half way home it is like something clicks in her brain.  Oh wait!  Did you say Silly Bandz?!  Turns out her friends at the YMCA have silly banz.  Suddenly she knows what they are and is all excited to have them, can't wait to go to the Y tomorrow and show her friends.  The next day neighbors are over and now Isabelle is trading with them.  Even the boys seem to have them.  And when my homeschooled 8 year old niece came over she immediately knew what they were and clearly wanted them.  There is no hiding our children from these things!

This incident has me thinking about the next several years.  This fall she goes to school.  And if the silly band incident is any indication, we won't be bypassing future fads for years to come. 

I am seeing the next 13 years flash in front of me and envisioning the arguments about how much she NEEDS $200 jeans, is the only one that has never been to Disney world, ALL of her 8 year old friends have their own phones, and whatever crazy contraptions gets well marketed to her generation which she must have.

But let's face it, at 39 years old I am still watching the fads myself.  What are the latest colors to paint houses?  Flooring trends?  Are my shorts the right length?  Are these shoes the right style?  Purse? jewelry? Furniture?  I want $200 jeans, a trip to Disney World and a more gadgety phone.

Maybe it isn't so bad.  I am growing a friend to share these things with.  Someone to shop with and share common interests.

Not that Jake wasn't into fads when he was a kid but Pokemon was about as far as my girly brain was willing to take me into his world.  And frankly, I have no idea how any of his x-box games are played and no desire to learn.  I try to keep up with his fads but I am not part of them.

Somedays I look at my overly dramatic, high pitched talking, whining, tantruming little girl and wonder what I am supposed to do with her but as she grows I am starting to see little glimmers of the future in which we can have fun being girls together.  I love my mother/son bond but now I am starting to dream of a future mother/daughter bond and all we will share together.

In the mean time I am having fun watching Isabelle be silly with her silly bandz and glad for my mother, our mother/daughter bond and her continue eye on the fads.