My daughter is 15. As such, she tends to have a certain degree of obliviousness to anything not strictly revolving around HER. She cultivates ennui like salad greens. She is a professional shrugger and eye-roller. With selective hearing. You've probably met her. And been ignored by her. If you're lucky, that is. If she doesn't ignore you, she'll insult you. (Although I'm beginning to see that in HER adolescent economy, if she insults you, it means she LIKES you.)

At any rate, she is notoriously difficult to engage. Nothing is good enough, nothing is interesting, nothing is worth getting off the sofa, except Mom's ultimatums that if the dishes aren't done in 14 minutes, there will be dire consequences. It is a requirement of being 15 that nothing impresses her.

Until this weekend. Last week, the local school board voted to do away with Mondays, in order to save money. That's right. No school on Mondays. EVER. I won't go into all the reasons that the parents think this is a bad idea, and the probable repercussions on the community; that's not what this is about, today.

Today, this is about something that INTERESTS my chronically apathetic teen. Today, said poster child for lassitude took an informal poll of her peers, and discovered that most of THEM don't like the idea of no school on Mondays, either. I'm a little stunned at this news, frankly. The kids' concern is that the new schedule will mean more homework, as well as the potential loss of "elective" activities. But again, that's not the point.

The point (and I do have one), is that MY daughter (and I've just sent away for a fingerprint kit to be sure) decided with a friend that they wanted to DO something about an issue that affects them directly. She asked me, "Mom, would 'Brady' and I get into trouble if we circulated a petition among the student body stating WHY we think getting rid of Mondays is a bad idea?"
Kind of like when you're playing poker, and you have a good hand, but don't want to give it away by the look on your face, I had to contain my enthusiasm at the prospect that my disassociative offspring actually wanted to become (*gasp*) INVOLVED in something other than Next Top Model. Few things will discourage a teenager faster than a parent's approval in this kind of thing, so I played it coo-oo-l.

"No, honey, not at all. You and your friends have every right to voice your opinion. And you should, if you feel strongly about something."

I had to stifle my Beavis-like chuckle when she asked me, "Will you help us find out how to make up the petition form correctly and stuff?"

"Sure, yeah." I tried not to beam too loudly, lest it spook her out of her new-found pursuit.

So off she went to a youth group activity, determined to garner support for her cause. Evidently she recruited at least two more volunteers for the organizational bandwagon. "How To Influence People And Make Friends", forsooth!

A while later, she texted me, dejectedly (and yes, texts have *tone*; if you can't interpret it, you just don't text enough. I have had more exchanges with this same kid over texting than she would EVER sit still for in "real" time!) Anyway, she dejectedly informed me that one of the group leaders had dumped ice water all over the kids' idea, stating that, "You're just children. This is a matter for the adults to decide, not you. You should probably just stay out of it. You're going to waste your time. You can't change anything."

I beg your pardon.

That is NOT the point AT ALL!

The POINT is that if these kids, in a day and age when apathy is the word of the day, if they want to use their own time and effort to attempt a change in their community, then I APPLAUD that. Will it make a hair's difference? No, probably not. But did I tell them that? Of course not!
Is it not their Constitutional RIGHT to be heard? Is it not their right to peaceably assemble, lawfully organize and respectfully present their opinion to the powers that be? It doesn't matter if their issue is to petition that the cafeterial serve monkey brains and couscous on Tuesdays. What matters is that my lackadaisical kid and her friends are motiviated to exercise their rights as citizens of a free society.

It's so easy to toss our kids' ideas aside as absurd or inane. Or hopeless. That's not the point. The point is that I want to be the kind of adult who will encourage my kids and their peers in exercising the rights that we're so proud of, the freedoms that set us apart.

No matter if she wants to petition to ban banana popsicles from the State of Georgia. If she wants to get involved in changing her society, then I will encourage her. I will equip her. And I will enable her.

And in so doing, I will empower her.

May I NEVER be ice-water on a fiery spirit!