Teenage girls

I have a teenage daughter whose favorite word is "No". She is as strong willed and as determined and as stubborn a person as I tend to be. If she has her mind set on something no one can turn her in a different direction. Because she has had both her parents (my wife and I) since birth and during this time our finances have been good she is very secure in this way.

However, then my wife came up with the bright idea to take her and some of her girlfriends from her prep school on a tour of universities and colleges from S.O.U. in Ashland, Oregon through all of them near Interstate 5 up through the University of Washington near Seattle, Washington.

My point of view coming from a different background than my wife's was: "Hey. This is kind of crazy!" My point of view is sort of: "People should go to college close to home because that is more cost efficient and less alienating for families." But no, my wife decided to do this which for me, is sort of like a person shooting themselves in the foot as parents because your kids might be living thousands of miles away from you by doing this. I suppose if you WANT your kids thousands of miles away from you living and staying there then this might be a good thing. But, if you like your family close you just shot yourself in the foot. And if you don't have finances to go visit them then maybe you might see them once or twice in your life or maybe for Christmas once every 5 years or something like that.

So, I embarked on this trip not because I wanted to go but to mostly get away from the foggy northern coast of California which usually stays around low 50s at night and not over 65 Fahrenheit during the day most days without sun during the summers. (I have always hated this by the way). But, it is also why we have Redwood, pine and oak forests with ferns from about Morro Bay North through Big Sur and all the way up into Oregon along the Coast. (Redwoods really get going about Big Sur and further North)

So, when we drove about 10 hours straight or more up to Ashland I had the first inklings that this just wasn't going to work for me and I noticed I was getting more and more irritated as the trip progressed. Finally, when I reached Portland I stopped going on the college visits at all because I had just had enough already. I also had had enough of Restaurants, and women shopping (both of which I don't care for because I'm an out of doors person). Restaurants I can see the point of because we all have to eat. But shopping I have always hated ever since my mother lost me in a store in Los Angeles (I think it was a Broadway STore) in 1954. Back then she couldn't drive yet and so we traveled by bus which was kind of scary too for a little kid. But then, when she started to drive and knock over mailboxes and I hit the windshield with my head because there were no seat belts then, you sort of get why I don't want to go shopping for anything unless it is online or an emergency when my wife is out of town.

Anyway, in Portland I had had enough and it was starting to affect my health after 2 weeks of this already. So, I decided to stay in Portland and go visit the out of doors and rent a car and maybe go skiing because that is possible near here year around and visit my other daughter and her boyfriend who live here. So, this morning I sent the 4 teenage girls and my wife north in my 4 wheel drive and I rented an all wheel drive SUV to go up into the mountains and recharge my batteries with my older daughter and her boyfriend. Thank God! I think I might survive this after all. I used to like teenage girls when I was a teenage boy. But now even though they are wonderful in one way they are also a vexation to the spirit because they are going "ALL directions at once". And at 65 I have no idea what to do with that anymore. So, I can survive some time in the wilderness to recharge my batteries. I can stay alive which is what I need to do now.