Tomorrow night (Wednesday? Oh, they have Veterans Day off the next day) is my daughter’s first high school dance. I think it’s the only one they get to go to this year. It’s an all-school dance, too, so there will be seniors there.

Tonight, at dinner, she remarks, “Dad, you know they will be all doing the grind.”

I was flummoxed by this bit of information, and wasn’t quite sure what to do. It turned out that my wife and son didn’t know what the “grind” was, and my son kept asking about it. My daughter wouldn’t say; my wife didn’t know (or so she said), so it came down to me. Sigh.

So, naturally I was concerned. She said she had no plans to grind, and if she had plans, I’m sure she wouldn’t have told us. Still, what was more alarming was the presence of older kids. So we started interrogating her on her plans. How many friends would she have there, etc.

She acted like, “Oh Mom,” classic teenager speak, I think. But I think she was just playing with us. She understands how to keep herself safe, I think. I hope,

How did your conversation go? Is it different with boys than it is with girls? Do you have a story?

Topics: dance, children, parenting, safety, teenagers