Teen Talk

I've had more time to spend with my teens lately because of the holiday break from school. My oldest has his head buried into his cell phone texting, or on the computer several hours a day. I find myself talking to the side of his head most of the time. He does join us for winter activities and plays nicely with the little guys, but to really talk to him is like pulling teeth at the dentist. It's either mumbled words or a few words. I can get him to really open up when I'm speaking his interests. Not girls, but snowmobiles and cars! My son will say very little or mock me in some way when he thinks I'm trying to "be cool." But, if I mention something about snowmobiling, he perks up, gets out of his seat, walks over to where I'm standing and make eye contact! Holy stars it's a breakthrough! We can actually have a dialogue and he lights up when I want to talk "shop" with him. I really don't have a clue what to say, but I want to talk to my son so I ask him a question about the snowmobiles in our garage or if we need to get any oil and gas for them.
We went shopping for his girlfriend and the family last week before Christmas. We got a coffee from McDonald's and played his loud, rap music while driving from store to store. He laughed with me, opened the door for me and didn't mind what I was wearing for the day. (He usually says that I dress like an old lady). We got to talk about school, sex, girlfriends, friends at school, teachers, and just plain ol' stuff. I had a blast that day. I connected with my child. I will cherish our shopping excursion, because as soon as we got home, his only words were. . . ."What's for dinner?"