Let’s do this together

The Dark Lord spends a disproportionate amount of her time trying to get me to give her lifts into the high street to meet her mates.

Usually I say no because, frankly, she could do with the exercise.

Kids are supposed to get 60 minutes of exercise a day – she probably gets six.

On the odd occasion when it’s been tipping it down, I’ve relented and picked her up from town.

But when she texts, her message usually says: “You can pick me up now – but wait round the corner, yeah?

There seem to be no limits to the depth of a teenager’s embarrassment, but I decided to pull her up on it when she got in the car.

“Are you ashamed to be seen with me?” I asked as I pulled away from the kerb. “The person who gave you life?”

“No,” she said guiltily. “But you always embarrass me by smiling and talking to my mates. You scare them.”

I laughed. “God I’m a terrible mother. Imagine being nice to your friends like that. What are they scared of – being forced to hold a conversation?”

Then last Sunday she managed to drop her high ideals because her mate Alex had missed his bus home and needed taking home.

I was out shopping, so I swung past the bus stop and they clambered in.

I hadn’t met Alex before and he seemed fun, so we had a good laugh, mainly at The Dark Lord’s expense.

She sat in the front silently fuming and when he’d gone, she hissed,: “I told you – don’t talk to my friends in the car, Mum. It’s embarrassing, you get me?”

I pooh-poohed her with a wave of my hand. “My car, my rules and now I shall play my groovy tunes on Radio 2. Feel free to walk…”

■ Email me at siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk or write to Community Corner, PO Box 791, Winchester SO23 3RP.

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