You've been Boo'd!

Ummm yeah, so in case anyone was wondering what 6th graders are up to these days... It's "Booing" (Boo-ing?) their friends. Auddie somehow elected me to be the driver/accomplice in this activity tonight, and I kind of had to say yes, because I want to be cool to her 6th grade friends, and I want to know what the hell boo-ing is, and I like to listen in on her conversations so I know what 6th grade girls talk about when they're together.

Of course I asked the usual required who, what, where, etc...questions, and then asked, "Wait a sec, if I weren't doing this, who would?" And she said someone else's parent, except "They already did it last time..." Sure, sure.

First of all, let me just say that it's definitely fall now. I had to put on my trusty Oxford sweatshirt, long pants, socks, and slippers (no more flip flops :( too cold) to go outside, and I used the heat in the car- WTF? It's nice though, because daytime weather is windows cracked, nighttime is the light sweater thing. Love the fall.

We went to pick up her first friend around the block, then onto her next friend, the social butterfly super boy-obsessed one. We were going to this girl's latest BF's house first (she's obsessed w/ him.. "if he's happy, i'm happy..." etc. Yeah, I know. 6th grade. I was probably the same way, who knows. I try to keep Auddie in check, though. "Your friend is crazy, don't listen to her, really, ever.")

The deal is, they make me park the car a few houses down, turn off the lights and everything, and duck just in case someone sees me (??). I totally felt like I was about to rob a bank, it was scary, and anytime a neighbor would be out walking a dog or just passing by my car, I thought they were going to call neighborhood watch on me. So the kids go to the house, tip-toe up to the front, giggle like crazy, drop a bag of candy w/ note attached and "BOO" message, ring the doorbell, then take off behind the bushes or a car or tree or whatever they can find. So apparently no one answered the door or they were watching TV too close to the door or something?

So we abandoned the mission for the time being and went to girl #1's BF's house (by the way, they didn't have directions to any of these places, they just had the school directory and street names and numbers, and just thought that I would be their GPS I guess. Luckily, it worked out and I recalled the names and places). At house #2, same deal, but this time I'm really nervous because two other neighbors happen to be coming home while my car is parked in between their homes, and I'm this dark shadowy figure sitting in a car with three 11-yr-old girls on the sidewalk acting shady.

I'm kind of excited, though!! I'm like turned around in my seat trying to see where they're hiding, and who answers the door, and what their reaction is. It was kind of awesome, because I remember that feeling. The same feeling you get when you're TP'ing or throwing rocks at a window. Suddenly I was envious! They'd be talking about this for the rest of the night and at lunch the next day. 6th grade is totally awesome. Really, it is. The kid's mom opened the door and took the bag, and it was a success! They got back in the car and started asking me about The O.C.

I was like, do I talk to them about the O.C.? Is that appropriate? It's awesome that they love it, but should they? I don't think I'd let Auddie watch it, even though I know I watched that stuff at her age (90210).

Friend #1 asks me who my favorite character is, and I'm not even sure if they're at the age where they still like to pick their favorite girl characters or boy ones, so I'm like "Uh, girl character or boy?" And she's like "uhhh, BOY!" Duh........ So I say, of course "Seth" (Adam Brody), and I'm thinking she'll pick Ryan (Ben McKenzie) because he's supposed to be the "hot" one I think, but she actually agrees with me.

Then friend #2 says, "I've only seen it once for like 2 minutes, but when I did, it was like..."
other girls: "Like what?" friend #2: "They were just like, in bed together!...[giggle]" ... awkward silence/sounds/pauses from other girls.
It was pretty awkward, and I was just pretending to be the limo driver with the barrier between me and the backseat.

We go back to house #1 and someone's dad grabs the bag, but they want to be sure about it, so after all the hiding behind trees, they go ring the doorbell again to ask whether the kid got it. (I thought the point was to be secretive). His mom answers and is craning her neck looking for a car, as she asks "Did someone's parent take you here?" That would be my first thought also.. what grown person would escort you kids around at 8:30 on a Tuesday night?

So I drive around aimlessly with these 3 girls in my back seat for a while longer, until I realize one of them is pretending to "recall" where the 3rd kid-to-be-boo'd actually lives but actually has no idea, so I decide to take them all home before I get myself into some kind of trouble for kidnapping them for an hour.

I drop them off, and Auddie's all, "WASN'T THAT THE MOST FUN YOU HAVE EVER HAD" (exaggerated), and I'm like, Oh yeah. Maybe if I was the one ringing the doorbells! But, she probably thinks I'm cooler for it, so that's good.

She told her friends, "You know, I tell my sister everything that goes on at school, so she knows everything." I wonder if that made them feel awkward. I mean, it made me feel a little awkward. I'm trying to find out how to be cool but authoritative at the same time. Like "Oh you have a boyfriend!! Sweet! I remember when I was in 6th grade..." versus "What do you mean she wants to 'take it to the next level'... what does that mean, what level are they at right now? Auddie, find out what she means, I need to know" (true story).

Wow, long-winded blog for the 6th grade update. I guess that means Auddie's life is more exciting than mine! Well, whatever keeps you reading!


Current Music: Gathering Dust, by David Gray
Current Mood: tired