The one where Teenzilla meets her idol

Let's start with a brief summary of 13 (almost 14!) year old girls:

Complicated, unpredictable, independent, child-like, mature, opinionated, sweet, moody, and, as if that isn’t enough, they are also a raging mass of hormones and emotions and ideas and insecurities and talents and social challenges, sloppily wrapped-up in a body that no longer belongs to a child, but is still not that of a woman. And, oh yeah, they are super PRIVATE.

My Teenzilla is kind-hearted and sensitive. She does not have a mean bone in her body. She supports her family and her friends. She is strong and 100% committed to her values, even when wavering might appear to serve her better. She is honest.  She giggles. She loves Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. She also loves Star Wars and Harry Potter and comic books.  She cannot stand to disappoint, herself or those whom she cares about. She is an old soul. (I know- sounds kind of new agey and all but she really is!)

He is adorable!

My Teenzilla has an idol. And like every teenage girl- her worship is profound. Nobody else has ever had these same feelings, nobody loves her idol the way she does..etc etc.  And of course- Mom just doesn't get it at all.  Which is quite untrue, I can well remember the days of my misspent youth- and the many "crushes" I had on celebrities, and how MY mom didn't get it either.

So when her idol- Chris Colfer- one of the stars of Glee wrote a book-The Land of Stories she was ecstatic. Dad pre-ordered the book for her and she all but camped by the mailbox waiting for it to come. When it arrived she disappeared into her room and stayed up until 2:30 A.M. reading it- and finishing it too!

Then she found out he was going to be a mere 3 hours away from us for a book signing and begged and pleaded and promised it would be all she would ever ask for (in typical teenage girl fashion). I did not look forward to it at all. I hate driving 15 minutes to the movies- much less 3 hours. To a different state. But, of course I said I would do it.

Plans were made- things were in motion- and then I found out we had to buy the book from the actual bookstore he would be at. Seriously? So guess what we did?  Yup- bought a second copy of the book.

The big day arrived and she was vibrating with excitement. We left the house at 9:30 in the morning. Mind you- the book signing wasn't until 7:00 P.M. that night. But according to the bookstore's Facebook page- we needed to get there early to pick up our pre-ordered book. So we sang, laughed, played the alphabet game, quoted movies like Wayne's World and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, talked about "The Colfer" (as I so cleverly dubbed him) and had a really, just awesome time.

Once we arrived- around 1:30 in the afternoon- it was just a matter of what were we going to do until THE BIG MOMENT! (Did I mention our number was 566 out of 600?) So we poked around the bookstore- the 32 ROOM BOOKSTORE!  (Quick shout out to The Bookloft of German Village in Columbus Ohio!), got something to eat, she changed into her costume and we got ready to get into line.

I have never seen her so excited. We were in the longest line EVER and she was chatting people up, talking about the book, and at one point had everyone around us singing Bohemian Rhapsody! (I was pretty damn impressed by that!)

As we got closer she was a bundle of nerves. She had spent 6 hours recreating the map in the book to give to him. She kept going over and over what she would say to him, kept asking me if my camera was ready, and then we were there.

I loved that this wasn't a Barnes and Noble store- where he would have been in a conference room of sorts. He was in a tiny little room- so she got to be pretty close to him. She gave him her map, and told him what it was, and told him he was beautiful and amazing and that she loved him. (Insert AWWW here)  His reaction to the map was great- he said "This map is amazing! Thank you! And thank you for dressing up!" I thought Teenzilla might vomit or pass out. She got her signature and we walked out.

His reaction to her map was priceless!

She lost it at that point. Typical teenage girl style- she started crying and laughing at the same time. I almost started crying just watching her. What an experience to be a part of. I was pretty impressed by Mr. Colfer myself, very personable, adorable, and SKINNY! I just wanted to give him a sandwich!

But the thing that really got me- was Teenzilla saying "No lights, no makeup, he's just a boy mom! He's real and cool and cute, and just a guy! He is so nice and easy to talk to!"  Which is exactly what her dad had said to her that morning.

All in all it was an amazing day. I was the best mom in the world, my daughter was the happiest I had ever seen her, and, don't tell anyone, I got a thrill seeing this adorable celebrity myself.

Thanks Chris Colfer for being such a positive influence in Teenzilla's life.  As idols go- you are a damned good one to have.