
Wolfling and I have finally started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer via Netflix. So far we've only seen four episodes, and we're both enjoying it -- but watching it with Wolfling is sometimes a surreal experience. I keep getting caught up in the fact that Buffy is living this freaky, dangerous, double life and all her mom knows is that she gets in trouble at school a lot. I find myself saying, Promise me that if you ever end up fighting vampires you'll let me know, okay? And Wolfling grins and promises.
Except that the last time the subject came up, I said, You know, it would probably be easier for you to tell me you're out hunting vampires than it would be for you to tell me about some of the real things that you could find yourself involved with. I hope you'll tell me about that too. She assured me she will.
She's only thirteen, and she still enjoys hanging out with her mom, who she considers to be as "weird" as she herself is. I don't think she fully understands just how much distance can develop once a kid is in the midst of adolescence. I keep hoping that her awareness of the richness and complexity (and yes, "weirdness") of my own life will make it easier for her to share things with me as she gets older. Only time will tell.
Meanwhile I watch the mother's painfully awkward attempts to "understand" her daughter, and remind myself how important it is to be consistent in my own efforts to keep communication open, express interest in her, share my own life, connect.
The other surreal aspect is that the show that sometimes hits close to home in the area of our own practices. Last night we watched an episode called "The Witch" in which a classmate's mother was discovered to be an evil witch. We were entertained by the over-the-top melodrama, including a spooky hidden room with a cauldron and poppets where Mom cast her spells, and then I excused myself to go upstairs to my room to do my own magical practices. We all know there's a huge difference between Hollywood spooky stereotypes and real magic, but it was still an interesting moment.
Side note to MT: We're both really enjoying David B's appearances as Angel after having spent the last several years with him as Booth!