Invisible Life Lines

I'm sitting up right now with my daughter while she studies for a chemistry test.  I'm pretty sure I never did anything remotely like what she's doing right now.  At Mahtomedi High School our chemistry teacher was a tall German man with white hair and tight black leather pants.  I thought he was creepy then.  Now, as a parent, I think he probably should not have been a teacher.  Anyway, I'm tired, but I don't really want to go to bed before she does.  I often go to bed before her because she has a lot of homework, but I have been working and she has been with friends and I don't feel as connected to her as I have been, so I'm doing things to stay connected. 

The connection we have is like an invisible life line made of thoughts and feelings and experiences and likes and dislikes and hobbies and relationships and school and family.  I started reading the book she is reading for school.  I like reading, but I like it even more when we talk about what she is reading.  She just finished telling me about the 3rd Harry Potter book she finished and I listened to the recap for a half hour in the kitchen.  I decided I might want to catch up with her on the series, because she's really into them.  I also found out what song she and her friend are playing for the talent show at school.  I happen to know this song because it's on one of her CD's in my car.  I started listening to her music when she wasn't in the car because I wanted to understand why she liked these bands and I found that the lyrics were full of poetry and meaning vs. a lot of the pop songs which seem to be just alcohol, drugs, sex and fame.  I started liking some of her music and I love the song she's going to play.  She's still working on chemistry and it's almost 1 a.m.  I told her not to go past 2.  She agreed even though she has a test tomorrow.  I work late tomorrow so her dad will be taking her to guitar, but when I get home, her test will be the first thing I ask about.  And if that's not a good topic of conversation, I'll ask her when she's going to ask someone to the Saddie's Dance, because I know she has someone in mind...because we talked about it.