You see, I grew up in a small town. My parents also grew up in that same small town and BOTH of them were teachers at the high school I attended for most of their 30 years of teaching (each!). So, pretty much everywhere we went in town, we ran into someone who had been in my mom's freshman English class, or on one of my dad's high school baseball teams, or even went to high school with my folks when they were teens. Chances were pretty good that at least one of my parents knew something about anyone that might have ever considered asking me for a date. If they didn't?? Well, they had access to all the records of all the guys that attended my high school AND friends who were teachers at the other two high schools in the county and could give them information on any guys who attended those schools.
Needless to say, I didn't do a lot of dating in high school. I wasn't exactly one of the "popular" girls and I can imagine that dating the daughter of your second period history teacher or fourth period English teacher would be a bit intimidating. It's actually pretty amazing that I somehow had two boyfriends in high school and a few miscellaneous dates.
I met my husband at the beginning of my sophomore year in college when I was just 19 (That story is coming up in December when we celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary!) and he was the first guy I seriously dated that my parents really knew nothing about.
I'm sure it drove my mother crazy, but I was thrilled. I had a sense of freedom; a sense of independence that I desperately wanted. I loved that I was the only one who knew what he made on his SAT or if he had ever been sent to the principal's office.
Back in my time of teenage angst, I really disliked my high school "situation" and felt a lot of pressure to be "good" all the time. Once I got to college, I was happy to be out from under the magnifying glass. Today, almost twenty years later, however, I have a little more perspective.
And, you know what they say about karma, right??
Well, "that guy" and I now have three daughters of our own. Although, I disliked my parents knowing everything about everyone back then, I totally get it now. My girls aren't in high school or seriously dating yet, but when they do - I'd pay good money for a look at the records of the boys who come a'courtin'!!!!
In fact, my oldest started middle school this year and pretty soon a particular young man began calling her quite frequently. My hubby completely went into reconnaissance mode. He Googled, Mapquested, and pretty soon knew more about the kid than my daughter did. My mother would have been really proud of him! :-)
It's funny how much becoming a parent can change your point of view, huh??
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This post was written as part of Finish The Sentence Friday. FTSF is hosted by some wonderful blogging ladies. Please give them a visit and check out all the other blogs that participate as well!
Janine at Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic
