Text Me!

Josh is a teenager.

I realize that, technically, he has been one since June 27, 2010.

But over the last several months, he has become the stereotypical teenager.

By that I mean he kind of grunts when spoken to. He stays up way too late playing video games or watching Seinfeld reruns. And he offers only the most minimal of information.

Last weekend, he went with the Daviess County High School Band on a trip to New York City. We sent him off to The Big Apple with clean underwear, deodorant, and his fully charged phone. And the simple request to call or text when he could.  Is that too much to ask?

Over the course of five days, here are his text responses to the thoughtful and enthusiastic questions I texted him:

“Yes.”

“Not really.”

“We left.”

“On the bus.”

“On a tour.”

“Good.”

“Yes.”

“Not yet.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Is the phone water proof?”

I must admit, that last long-winded text kind of caught me off-guard. I quickly (and correctly) ascertained it was raining on Sunday.

Yes, this was the sum of his text responses from the time he left on Thursday, all the way to Sunday afternoon.

To be perfectly fair, he did call twice. OVER FOUR DAYS.

But wait, there’s more.  On Sunday, I texted this: “Where are you going now? What are you doing?” His response?

“Restaurant now, shopping earlier.”

Then: “Have you had fun today? Was it very cold?”

Josh: “Some fun very cold.”

And then that was it. I sent six more text messages between Sunday evening and Monday, with no response. I called and received no answer. Hmmm, maybe that water proof question was legitimate.

Or, maybe, despite the “yes” answer earlier when I asked if he had charged his phone, his battery had died. Turns out that was the case.

He did have a fantastic time in New York. And I don’t blame him for not wanting to spend that time on the phone with his parents. But I must say, his texting habits are completely different than his sister’s. She is so chatty with us, both in person and through text messages.  Is that an age-difference thing? Or a boy/girl thing? I don’t know yet. But when I figure it out, I’ll let you know.