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Please forgive me, but I was just settling in when my 14-year-old daughter informed me that the water in her shower is knee deep and not draining.

So after an hour of rigorous drain-snaking, here I am. But I’m not complaining.
I’m not allowed to complain.

Seriously.

The other night, my wife and I made a pact. We agreed to quit complaining entirely.

We have three daughters — two of them teens — and my wife and I can find plenty of things to grumble about.

It doesn’t take much to launch either one of us into a full-blown gripe-a-thon. But lately we have come to realize that we are guilty of harping on the negative too much.

So, we resolved to try no complaining for an entire weekend just to see if we could do it.

So, in the spirit of no complaining, I am going to attempt to briefly share only the most positive aspects of living with two teenagers:

1. We are on the mailing list for a wide array of clothing catalogs, including Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, Aeropostale and Old Navy.
2. Our house is well stocked on all manner of lip balm, lip gloss, lipstick, Burt’s Bees and flavored lip oils. We undoubtedly must have the healthiest lips in town.
3. Both of my teenagers, as well as nearly all of their friends, are seriously gifted with electronics. Whether its rapid-fire texting at 180 words per minute, downloading songs onto their iPods or taking digital pictures of their balding father and posting them on Facebook.
4. They like the word “like” and say it like very often.
5. They are able to multitask in the extreme. At any given moment, either one of my daughters may be listening to music on the desktop computer while simultaneously chatting on the cell phone with one friend while conversing with six other friends on Facebook. Of course, this is all done with the TV on in the background.
6. My wife and I are up to date on the latest mellifluous virtuosity from such artists as Lil’ Wayne and Lady GaGa.
7. Because of all the straightening irons, hair dryers and styling wands that are in constant use in my house, it wouldn’t surprise me if I got a fruit basket from Duke Power for highest energy use on the block.
8. If drain-clogging were an Olympic sport, my daughters could compete at a high level.
9. Frequent and unpredictable mood swings add a touch of spice to our otherwise ho-hum family life.

All kidding aside, I am completely and utterly dumbstruck that these two children of mine, who were just a few short years ago stick-legged, pig-tailed little girls, have grown up into these beautiful and intelligent young women they are today.

 I’m sure anyone who’s ever had a teenager under their roof knows, it’s not always an easy job, but the real truth is, I really have no right to complain.

Contact Mac Lane at maclane@northstate.net