The In-Between Stage

Last week I took A and a buddy to see a band in Camden, which is north London. We had been having an argument back and forth the week before, unrelated to these plans about when it would be okay for A to go into London with just her friends. Unbeknown to us, something about turning 14 makes her think she is now grown. At the end of the discussion I just plainly stated, “The first time that you go to London with your friends at night without an adult, you won’t be 14”. That ended the debate.

So here we go into London to listen to a pop punk band that while British, seem very American. We get in line with all of the teens waiting for the door to open and I take my newspaper and go sit on a stoop a little bit away from the line to give her some space with her friend, and she yells to me wanting me to come stand by them. When we are in the venue, I let her and her friend go stand away from me, closer to the band than I care to be. Close to the end of the evening, as I’m standing in the back reading email on my phone she comes up and hugs me. I was telling my buddy C about this saying that here I was trying to not ruin her rep in the place by having her mom be right by her side, and she won’t leave me alone. C said, yeah enjoy those moments, they get few and far between as they get older!