Why do we say our teens are grounded? Who came up with this expressive idiom? The true definition has little to do with how American parents apply the word.
Was it a sixties hipster who got mad at his kids and used some sort of druggie lingo? “Dude, don’t get high like me. You need to be near the ground.” Inhale. Hold. Exhale.
Or maybe it was even earlier, way back when planes first took to the sky and mischievous pilots like Maverick and Goose from Top Gun were grounded from adventure?
Since, I’m pontificating here and have done zero research, besides Googling the word, I think this makes the most sense.
My little Maverick (Kyle) and his pal, we’ll call him Goose, are the cutest teens on the block, but every now and then, they too need a reality check.
Now Kyle, if you recall, was restricted from attending the teen dances he deeply treasures (which I’m guessing some hot girls attend) until his Social Studies and Global grades perked back into the A range.
On Friday, he came home and declared, “I aced my finals and I want to go to the dance tonight.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Slow down there tiger. Final grades don’t come out until next week.”
“Mom, it’s in the bag. I’m going to the dance.”
“We’ll see what dad says,” I responded.
Well, dad said “no” to the request and Kyle fell into a melancholy gloom. His usual smile disappeared and for a full twenty-four hours he looked on the verge of tears.
He claimed we were the strictest and meanest of parents. In fact, all his friends think we are the worst and no one wants to come over because we don’t have Call of Duty in our home, which is a fate worse than death to a Jr. High Boy.
My parental self-esteem was plummeting, that is, until Monday night when we drove his buddy home and his mom came out of the house with guns blazing. Apparently, Goose had a little explaining to do as well, regarding a certain grade issue. Mmmhhh!
Maybe, I’m not the meanest and strictest parent alive? Maybe other parents ground their kids too? Gasp! Shock! Horror!
Kyle sat in the car and somberly watched his buddy get zinged while a big smile crossed my husband’s face. He drove off and heard his friend’s mom say, “You’re grounded,” as he pulled the car out.
I love it when this stuff happens! And, I really loved Kyle’s sincere apology. So at least for today, I’m not the worst mom ever, now his friend’s mom is!
