You Say Stalker Like It's a Bad Thing

The internet and caller ID have changed the playing field when it comes to what might be considered stalking.  I'm not going to lie, I have been accused of being a stalker.  Mostly by my now 19 year old daughter.  She calls it stalking, I call it parenting.

This got me thinking about whether or not I have stalker tendencies.  In Middle School I followed a boy named Keoni all over the school without him knowing, because I liked him.  Not too strange.

In my early 20's I called a guy I had just started dating, over and over again until I caught him at home.  This was pre-cell phones.  Sometimes I would call him 10 times in a row.  Imagine how embarrassed I was when I found out what caller ID was and that he had it.

Caller ID cramped my style until I learned about caller ID blocking, then I was back in the game.  I've called an ex-boyfriend when I knew he wouldn't be home just so I could hear his voice on his voicemail.  Come on, who hasn't done that?

I've joined a gym because a guy I was into belonged to that gym.  Effective yes, stalkerish not really.

When my now 19 year old was about 15 she snuck out of the house,  I found out who the boy was that picked her up.  I knew the neighborhood he lived in, but not which house.  With my daughter safely at home I knocked on four doors before I found his house.  Lucky for him he wasn't home, but his sister was.  I told her she had better hope his parents find him before I do.

I then went to where I heard he worked and told everyone there he was a pedophile.  For record he was just two years older than my daughter and nothing actually happened.  That last bit was probably crossing a line, but you don't mess with a momma bear.  I also found his mom on facebook and let her know what evil her son was up to.  Parenting yes, stalking I don't think so.

I wouldn't label myself as a stalker, as much I would call it being passionate and innovative.  It's not like I've gone through someone's garbage.  Okay actually I did, but it was my daughter's and she was up to something.  Again, parenting.