If you know my daughter, please don’t tell her I wrote this story about her in high school. All children lie to their parents a little. No matter how virtuous they are there is a fib here and there. My child is no different. We were about three weeks out from leaving for Germany on our 2009 exchange. Tickets were bought and everything was paid for. My child tells us she is going to a swimming pool with friends. Sure, that is a fun way to enjoy the summer. About two hours later we get a call from Kaila. She tells us that the Jeep flipped over and she put her arm up to protect her head and she thinks she broke her arm. When she finished her story, my only response was, “How did you get that Jeep in the swimming pool?” Apparently, that was not the correct response. I thought it was a reasonable question. I just made her madder. When my wife took over the conversation things went better. We got her to the hospital and got the preliminary temporary cast. The doctor told her she had to be perfectly still so that she didn’t mess anything up and a couple of days later she was to come back and get the permanent cast. She was also told that if they had to do surgery she would not be able to travel to Germany. She stayed on the couch like a statue for several days so that she could get clearance to go.
The whole story is that there is an area of hills and dirt/mud trails where kids practice their four-wheeling. If you went to Rangeview, you will know the area over by Buckley on the way out to Murphy Creek. The good news was that she did get to go but was a little helpless with some tasks. I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone that she couldn’t cut her meat for a time in Germany. I have been true to my word. I haven’t told anyone and it is just our secret.
It was a wonderful addition to my career to have my daughter go to the same school where I taught. It gave us common experiences in high school. I know there are times when she was mortified but it is the joy of being a parent to embarrass your child. I should do more of her high school stories but the few I have are okay. I haven’t passed the “Not getting invited to Thanksgiving” threshold. You can see a picture of us when we landed in Frankfurt for our 4-week adventure.