the perils of raising a brainiac

Most of the people reading this know my daughter, who I will refer to as Dot. Those of you that know her have surely heard me brag about her genius. Raising a genius is cool because you can have stimulating conversations with an 11 year old & she always has brag worthy achievements (way to go w/ 1 missed TAKS reading question & no missed TAKS math questions!). There is, however, a downside.

The most note-worthy peril (in my humble opinion) is her love of fantasy novels. A love of reading about dragons isn't a problem. What is a problem is her total recall of all the characters names & all the pertinent plot points, which she loves to recount to me in excruciating detail. I hate fantasy novels. I can't keep up with the weird names & made up places. It's even worse when a breathless, excited 11 year old tells you EVERY major event in a 800 page book. I tried being nice, saying "Mommy doesn't like fantasy novels or dragons. I like ninjas & zombies." That didn't work. She thinks if she tells me about it, I will develop an interest. She's wrong. Now when she starts, I say, "Hey Nerdlinger, I don't want to hear about that nerd stuff." You probably think that is mean. Well, I say it with love. Also, you probably don't have children.

She is beginning to use logic against me. It's my fault. I taught her, through much verbal sparring, that logic can never be defeated. In fact, I ended many discussions that way. "You're wrong Dot. You can't beat logic, because logic can never be defeated!"(this statement was usually accompanied by me thrusting my fists in the air triumphantly). Well, that shit is starting to backfire on me, now. As a parent, I often decide she can't do something without having a logical reason. She has caught on to this, & is using it against me. Usually when I am tired. Sometimes, I just fold & let her do what she wants. She out argues Eric with frightening regularity. I believe all hope may be lost.

She is smarter than most of her teachers. This makes her cocky, & disinclined to listen to what they say. She's read more books than her school librarian, & scoffs at her childish suggestions for reading material. Luckily, she still thinks I am smarter than she is, so she respects me. God help me during her teen years.

In the end, it's all worth it. Especially when she's supporting me during my golden years.