So she survived another night shift. These are pictures that I actually found on the band's website, I didn't get them from Linds. That's her "group" of four in the right hand corner (top pic)...she's actually being squashed by the lunge forward. What fun. She absolutely loves it and comes home bruised. I can think of more pleasurable leisure activities but hey, moshing's not for everyone.

Apparently she had her turn crowd surfing after this fellow, although no pics are available. But she is helping by getting kicked in the head as he's hoisted around (she's in the orange striped shirt).

One thing I will say here is that I feel it's important as a parent to get to know what your kids are doing and who their friends are. Not just names, but REALLY get to know them. At first glance, most of Lind's friends would scare some parents. This is based on appearances only and they are a perfect example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Madison is totally punked out and you just never know if her hair will be black and white or purple. Spikes, piercings, dog collars...you know the drill. Her uncle is Jay from ANTM. Kesian is Lind's best friend. He's my second son and I love him like my own (almost). He's a gay biracial sweetheart who looks extremely emo when he grows out his hair and swoops it over one eye with a streak of red in the front (Linds HATES the word emo). Kelly is a very "hip" Asian fellow who dresses head to toe for outings and is as sweet as can be. He idolizes Linds and has manners beyond anything I've ever seen. CJ is wiccan and thinks she's a vampire. She dresses very goth and puts most of the emphasis on her dramatic eye makeup (which often includes drawn on tears?!). Her boyfriend Mike looks like your average kid and is a rugby player who's all of 100 pounds. He's a sweetheart too. Scott is a drama king and is easily swayed and pushing every button a teenager can push. He's one of the ones going astray...yet, if you looked at the bunch of them, you'd figure him the last to be going wrong. He looks like something out of Leave It To Beaver. Looks can be deceiving. Jessie is over 6 feet tall and being groomed by the BC Lions. Michail is from Chile and has been shot at (or so he tells me). He is solid and appreciates little things in life, like soccer. He has a huge "fro" and calls Linds at least 1600 times a day. He's a good boy. He works hard and cares deeply about his family. And Lindsay. If he calls and the answering machine picks up, he hangs up and calls again. Until we answer. I hear her cell go off at 4 am and know it's Michail, just checking in. He, too, is extremely polite and I call him my "homie"...we usually have a ten minute conversation before Linds gets on the phone. Meagan is the epitome of "dumb blonde". Believe me, it's exaggerated. But she's as sweet as they come...just very naive.

So why bother with all of this? Because, in befriending my daughter's friends I've kept the lines open. They trust me and I trust them and that makes life a whole lot easier. I'm the designated taxi at the end of the night - which is how I've got to know them all so well. I hate seeing 15 year olds bussing home in the wee hours so I'd rather cram them in the car and make sure they all get home safely. They're all my kids. Many call me Mom and when I have questions about where Lindsay is because she's neglected to pick up her cell they don't hesitate to jump in and help me. Their new thing is to "drop by" my booth at work to check in and see if I've got anything to feed them. It's important to get to know your kid's friends. Because, in doing so, you get to know your kids a whole lot better too.