Maryann Austin

Some twenty miles or so outside of Saratoga Springs, NY is a place/body of water known as Lake Desolation.  It was back in the mid-eighties that I lived in the nearby town of Greenfield Center.  My mom and brother had a campground there.  And at seventeen I was rudely whisked away from my home in suburbia to live in this lonely place just south of the snow belt.  A place where snow flies each and every horrible day of the winter--and into the spring.   It was at that campground that I met Bridget.  She was the eldest daughter of a couple who camped there for a summer or two.  She was a true rebel: sneaky and holding many secrets from her parents.  I was a shy geek, albeit a pretty one.  So, in spite of my geekiness, I found myself pulled into the misadventures of many a bad girl in my youth. And Bridget was one of them. In some late seventies car, we drove in the dark, past Roeckles (rhymes with locals) General Store and toward the little bar on the shore of Lake Desolation.  Ti

     Ok.  The first thing I want to do is apologize for calling some kid a geek.  I don't know him, and he sounds like he's really a pretty nice kid.  But Geek Gets Date seemed more engaging than Nice Lonely Boy Gets Date.   Let's just say, he's not part of the popular crowd.      Last night, my son Christopher shared this story that made me smile.  A boy in his high school walked around all day yesterday carrying a large sign that read Need Date.   My son and this boy are in the same class at the end of the day, and so my son had the good fortune of witnessing the result of the young man's public request.  In front of everyone, a pretty girl approached him and said that she would like to go out with him.  My son says that the boy's chin almost hit the floor.        Moral of the story: Ask and you just might receive!  

A few days ago, my teenage son and his girlfriend had a tiff.  Both of them are very level-headed for their ages, and they managed to diffuse the situation before it got bigger than it needed to be.  My son had said hello to another girl (who is not a friend to his girlfriend) while they (couple) were walking to class.  Maybe it was the way he said it.  Maybe it was who the girl was.  Maybe his girlfriend was just having a bad moment. But I was proud of my son and the way he handled it.  He didn’t call her crazy.  He didn’t tell her that she was imagining things.  He didn’t cave either.  He stood his ground without making her feel even more threatened in a weak moment. Word of wisdom to you guys (and girls), when a little jealousy rears its head, it’s best not to defend yourself.  Her point is not that you are a jerk (even if she calls you one!).  It is that she feels hurt and threatened.  The worst thing you can do is tell her that she is insecure or nuts.  The best thing and ki