COUCH TEEN & COUGH MOM HIT THE PANCAKE HOUSE

~ring ring~

Me: Hello?

CouchTeen: Uh, Mom?

Me: Well, yeah.

CouchTeen: Do you want to meet me for lunch downtown? I'm just about ready to catch the bus from school.

Me: (pausing) Hmmm...well, I'd have to get showered and all. (another pause) Yeah, alright. I'll text you when I leave the house.

CouchTeen: Aiight.

~beep~

Generally, I do not ever want to turn down a lunch invitation, even though it is dead certain that I would be picking up the check here. But I've been coughing with this nasty sinus thingy for like a month now, and look like someone who's been coughing for a month: tired, draggy, and probably germy. I'd rather hang at home in my pajamas and sloth out until I have to drive to pick up Thing 2 and Thing 3 from school. But...your teen son wants to hang out with you for an hour over a nice warm meal at the Pancake House...you go.

The Mother and Child Reunion took place in the parking lot by the Pancake House, where CouchTeen threw his backpack, wet from the rain, into my car and lamented the fact that he was very cold. As his mother I was duty-bound to point out these facts: that he was not wearing a jacket; that it was winter; that it was raining, and; that these things combine to make one uncomfortable.

"Mmmph," he grunted in reply.

We settled into a booth in the restaurant. I lamented the fact that I was having trouble reading the menu because of glasses inadequacy.

"Ha ha -- you're old." CouchTeech grinned evilly.

"Ah, you shut up," I snarked back.

Hot tea with lemon for CoughMom, ice water for CouchTeen.

We discussed the weekend plans and a conflict in our schedules Saturday night, which will probably end up with me staying home and CouchTeen not staying home. Bah. We talked about the Coachella line-up this year -- he would like to go, I thought I wouldn't mind skipping it since I have recently seen just about all of the bands I really wanted to see on the schedule already. I reminded him that a trip to Indio for him was a conflict in his college skool schedule and bank account reality.

"Bah," he snorted, and then brought up this very amusing fake Coachella line-up poster on my iPhone. I laughed quite a bit.

Shenanigans with a lemon.

Me: Would you wear, out of the house, a pair of gold MC Hammer pants?

CouchTeen: (thinks) Yes. Not at school. But sure, why not?

Me: I mean, not yellow. GOLD. Shiny GOLD.

CouchTeen: I'd do it.

Me: I'm gonna find some.

CouchTeen: Aiight.

Our food arrived: Sourdough French Toast for him, and a poached egg, bacon, and pancakes for me. He scarfed his up, then started picking at my pancakes and I threatened to poke him with my fork. Hard.

Time to go. Check paid, out the door, back into the rain. Math test tomorrow for CouchTeen, doctor appointment for CoughMom, but a nice hour spent together today.