Ever since I started the Ultimate Blog Challenge, some new readers have complimented me on my blog name and wondered how I came up with it. Well, here is a little history behind the name:
One night, I was parked in the high school parking lot waiting for my daughter to finish track practice. She had already sent me a text me earlier informing me to pick her up. My phone pinged with a text message. “Where r u?” she typed. “I’m parked across from the tennis courts.” I reply. “K” she types too preoccupied (or too cool) to type in the “O” A few minutes passed and I was concerned she couldn’t find me. I checked the time on my phone and sent a brief text to someone else. When I looked up, I saw Jenna’s long, blonde hair draped over her bright, blue backpack. She was walking in the wrong direction.
So, I did what any mother would do. I jumped out of the car, waved my arm in the air and yelled –“JENNA! I’M OVER HERE!” Now, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the look of sheer humiliation on her face as she made her way towards my car. She opened the car door and I barely got out an apology before she laid into me about how parents should be seen and not heard.
As I tried to apologize yet again to the slumped over figure beside me, I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a manual to advise me on how not to embarrass my daughter in broad daylight in front of her friends in the high school parking lot? A parenting manual would prevent so many “mom-fail” moments like this one. Without said manual, there is no sure-fire, 100% effective, 24/7, 365 days a year guide to raising children in the 21st century. My son and daughter amaze me every day. It is truly an honor to watch them grow up and be a part of their lives. I only hope I’m not screwing them up. If I do, I’ll help pay for their future therapists. Don’t you think there are times when a life manual would be totally awesome? I could have used said manual as a road map following my college graduation. With my liberal arts degree in hand, the only advice I had to go on was to follow my passion and find a way to make it into a career. Life is complicated. And let’s face it, we are all just winging it in our own spectacular way! A manual would be nice, but none of us have one. Thus was born the name of my blog – Life Without A Manual.