A good mom teaches her child what he needs to know.
I used to be scared of Starbucks.
When I was a child, the only coffee we drank came from the coffee-maker. Its options were sugar and milk.
I don’t know why I never went into the coffee houses populated purely by students, back when I went to UT. I didn’t learn to feel comfortable ordering drinks in a Starbucks until I forced myself to learn their lingo about two years ago. I inched my way from coffee to cappuccino to frappuccino, bit by bit, lesson by lesson. Now I can say, “Tall iced latte with sugar-free vanilla” five times fast, all day long.
I used to be scared of bars.
When I was a child, they let me taste beer and scotch. Although I’d loved the beer as a baby, eventually I realized that canned Lone Star tasted like wet dogs smelled. The scotch made my mouth full of cotton, so I never tried it again.
Until this past summer. Which is when I also tried draft beer for the first time. I’ve added both to the repertoire I began the summer before that: Cape Cods, kamikazes, cosmos… Reisling, Merlot, and apple martinis. Only now, at the age of 32, do I feel that I could walk into a bar on my own and confidently pick a drink without having to imitate one of my friends.
There’s something to be said for discovering things on your own. I learned all about bubble tea [aka boba, flower-ball tea, and tapioca drinks] all on my own. Now I’m the one introducing it to my friends.
This year, my son Josh has been going to the coffee shop with his friends after school. “Cody said I’d like the mocha better than the cappuccino, but I don’t really like either one,” he said.
“Maybe you’d like the latte or one of the frozen drinks,” I said. “Why don’t you try them?”
“It’s too embarrassing. I’ll just stick to the cappuccinos, like Cody drinks.”
The next morning, we all left the apartment early. We dropped off Dallas and Rory at the elementary school. Then, I drove Josh to the coffee shop.
While we waited in line, I read the drinks on the chalkboard to him and explained everything I knew about each one. Josh decided that he might like a vanilla latte best.
“You order it for me, Mom.”
“No… you order it. Practice saying it now, quietly, until it’s your turn in line.”
He did it. He liked it. I dropped him off at school.
I want my son to learn new things on his own. But, also, I want him to know that I’m always there for him if he needs help.
I figure all I have left to do is teach him to drive and help him pack his car for college. Now that he’s twelve and the coffee house is out of the way, the rest is smooth sailing piece of cake Easy Street. Right?
