wake me when it’s over
You know, a parent never wants to rush through their child’s life and hurry up to get to the point when they are moving out on their own and leaving home. Usually. But yesterday gave me a good understanding about how relieved I’ll be on one level when that happens.
We got the cell phone bill. (How many of you know where this is going???) Both girls got new phones for Christmas – D after begging for one for months. She had hers taken away due to irresponsible usage quite a while ago. We felt she had been showing signs of being more concerned about right and wrong and she’d definitely been more pleasant to be around, so we capitulated and got her a cool new slider phone.
Since Cingular is incredibly unconcerned about keeping current customers happy and don’t offer a loyalty discount or special deal for returning customers, I had to purchase the $19.99 a month unlimited texting service with both new phones. Fine, they get to be in heaven for a month… but you see, with that package comes the access to the internet. And guess what!? Internet usage is NOT unlimited. Not only are we being charged for the 2500 or so mb that she loaded onto her phone, she also got billed for the songs, games, and ringtones that took up those 2500 mbs!!! So, the rebate that made the phone “free” is a wash, since we’ve got $58 or so added to the bill that we weren’t expecting. Joy.
So that is what we discovered on the phone bill. There was the charge for the extra line, the charge for the unlimited texting service that we were forced to buy (x 2), and these extra charges. So, we now have her phone in our possession. Again. There were hysterics, there was fingerpointing and excuses… it’s never her fault, no matter how obvious it is that it could be no one elses. Or, even if it’s her fault, there is always a shitload of anger thrown our way because of how unfair and mean and downright evil we are. Last night we even tried discussing rationally the idea that someday this will be her bill – how would she pay for rent and food and gas in the car if she does things like this without thinking about the consequences? We tried to impress on her that we are trying to teach her things she needs to know to be out on her own someday. Her response was to bury her head under her pillow.
So, sometimes I look forward to the emancipation day. And then even as I look forward to it, I cringe with fear and concern to think of her out on her own. I don’t know that it will be any better than her being here – just a new set of challenges.
She’s a very good actress. Wonder where she gets that? Guess it might be time to ‘get-a-job’ to pay THAT bill and perhaps all of her future ‘phone’ bills. Or, maybe, just maybe one of those calls out/calls in phones. What’s that called …. Cricket?? Oh, but that wouldn’t be any fun, now, would it?