Some words are exactly right. Throttle is the exact correct word for what I wanted to do to the grown man who was ogling my daughter this morning.

She started high school the other day and the school is close enough for her to walk. I could drop her off because I drive that way, but that’s not the point. She wants to walk. When I was her age the time before and after school was an essential component of my social life.

On my way to work this morning, stopped at a light, I saw her walking and almost beeped the horn. I repressed the impulse and instead witnessed a grown man at the bus stop look her up and down in a creepy, nasty kinda way. She was doing nothing to invite this attention other than walking down the street. I had a surge of anger at the inappropriate attention (she’s 14!) and instantly understood how it feels to “want to throttle” someone. Strangulation and a whole lotta swearing seemed like a measured response in that moment.

So far she thinks that high school is NBD (no big deal) for which I am grateful. I suspect it may be a Very Big Deal for me and her father as we experience her experiencing increasingly adult situations. Like creepy men.

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Saw this book at the doctors office the other day. I’m sure they put it out for all the kids heading back to school in the last few weeks, but I think it covers the parenting side pretty well too.