Just a typical conversation with a teenager yesterday.   Friday night, I heard running water and found I needed to replace the flapper in the bathroom my two oldest share.  I love to fix stuff and was ready after a quick trip to the store.   As I carried my toilet repair supplies down the hall, one of them emerged from said bathroom, which made me stop and wonder if the situation in the bathroom had suddenly changed.

Me: Did you take a big one in there?

Teenager: Huh?

Me: Did you stink up the bathroom?

Teenager: What?

Me: Did you take a big dump in the toilet I’m about to fix?

I raised up my supplies in a futile effort to show her what my mission was.  I think I even smiled in the hopes of reaching out to the gentler side.

Teenager: I don’t know.

Me:  You don’t know if you took a dump or you don’t know if it stinks?

Teenager:   I DON’T KNOW… BLAHHHH!!!!

At which point she stormed off to her room while I stood in the hall wondering what to do.

THE LESSON – let 30 minutes pass.  Let 30 minutes pass between the time a teenager wakes up and the time you choose to ask them a typically easy question AND let 30 minutes pass between the time someone emerges from the bathroom and time you choose to repair it.  You see, I can learn stuff.