GenX Moms

I've always tried to encourage MiniMe that she can ask me anything. To that end, I've never responded to a single question she poses with "Why do you want to know." I figure if she asks me a question, like, oh, I don't know, "what's a lesbian?" and I say "Why do you want to know," I might as well tell her "You shouldn't be asking that question." So far, this philosophy has worked well for me. And yes, I got the "what's a lesbian" question when she was in first grade.

So last night, MiniMe asks, "What's a promise ring?" Now being a GenX mom, the first thing I think of is a small token a young man might give to a young woman when they're dating, but too young to consider marriage. And so that's how I explain it to MiniMe. Only she looks at me really strange. Then I realize, oh, she's talking about that Jonas Brothers type promise ring. The one that teens will sometimes wear to show they intend to stay pure until marriage. Yeah, as a GenX mom, I'm not real familiar with that kind of promise ring. In my day we would have called that a chastity belt. 

So I say, "Did you mean the kind of promise ring the Jonas Brothers wear?" She pipes up, "Yea, what's that!" in a way that says "ok uncool mom, now you get it!"

Well, I say, that kind of promise ring is a ring either a young man or a young woman will wear that is sign to others that they will stay a virgin until they are married. 

"What? Really? Until they're married?" now she seems even more confused. 

Yes. They wear the ring to show they intend to stay a virgin until they are married. You know what a virgin is, right? (I mean if she knew what a lesbian was at age 6, I figured she knew what a virgin was. We had the sex talk when she was 7). 

"Yea, I know what a virgin is. It's someone who doesn't eat eggs or milk or cheese."

Um, no, that's a vegan, I say. Sounds kinda the same, huh? And I explain the difference without laughing, I might add. No small feat. 

I can only imagine what she must have thought. Teens wear a ring to show they won't eat eggs, or milk, or cheese until they're married.