Our family just got back from a very educational vacation in Washington D.C. We actually stayed at a hotel in Virginia but everyday took a Metro into D.C. I really thought this was going to be an experience that my children would appreciate. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy seeing the White House or the Capitol? Who wouldn’t want to see the original Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution?
My 13-year-old daughter didn’t want to see those things. In her words the only thing that “rocked” was our hotel because it had a pool and access to computers so she could check her email.
While the rest of us enjoyed looking at things like the fragile flag made when the “Star Spangled Banner” was written or some of our first ladies inauguration dresses going all the way back to Martha Washington, she was texting. She barely glanced at anything and if she did all I could see were the whites of her eyes because she was rolling them.
She complained about the walking, the heat and boredom. She refused to be in most pictures and the two that I made her pose for; she had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. All I can say is that it was very frustrating to me.
Every late afternoon when we returned to our hotel, I would update my Facebook status about what we had done and post pictures. There is one picture in particular where she has her scowl and in the caption I wrote, “Guess which one is not happy?”
I was starting to think I had done something wrong. Who was this girl? Where did I go wrong in my parenting? What had happened to the little girl I used to know? I began to feel better when one after another; I received comments about how their teenage daughters had behaved during family vacations. In fact my pastor’s wife posted a comment about how recently they were watching videos back when her oldest daughter was a teen and they had taken a vacation to Hawaii. Her daughter looked bored in all of the videos. Who could be bored in Hawaii? I guess a teenager can.
I am really trying to figure out if this is strictly a teen issue or a girl issue. My 16-year-old son enjoyed the trip. My 11-year-old son did complain about the walking but he still seemed to enjoy most of the things we saw.
I guess it just helps to know that I’m not alone. Vacationing with a teenager daughter was a definite challenge and I can only hope that someday she will look back on this and be thankful for all the things she got to see.
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