It must be me (From 10-28-06)

Ok so my 10 year old son has made a new friend in the neighborhood. We live in an apartment complex so usually he makes a friend and within 6 months, they are gone because they were just staying here until their new house was built or whatever. Anyway, nice kid, a little talkative lol and very intelligent. Very polite, shakes your hand and keeps you laughing. So I say, ask his Dad if it’s ok if he goes with us to the book store later. OK fine, yes he can go cool. While we are in the bookstore it becomes “Can he stay for dinner?” Ok sure but oh wait - he’s Jewish and I had taken out pork chops for dinner! ACK. Ok fine, no biggie, we’ll stop at the grocery store and grab one of those rotisserie chickens and save the chops for tomorrow. By the time we are done at the book store and stopping for dinner and get home, it’s just about 10 pm. Now I am putting the food out and making some veggies to go with the chicken and it becomes, can he have macaroni and cheese? Excuse me? Do I look like a freakin restaurant to you? I already changed the menu once, now he wants something else? Then he is on the phone with his mother and she wants to know if she brings over pasta, can I make it for him? I was unaware of the fact that it is Friday and he is not allowed to eat meat on Friday. There was no school today so I keep thinking it’s Saturday. OK fine, now I am making the pasta and the chicken dinner for the rest of us is getting cold. SIGH. So I tell him, “Honey you are an outspoken individual” (YES you can talk to him and he understands, he is 12 and talks like an adult lol) I said instead of getting me annoyed, you should have said “It’s Friday I can’t eat meat” So he laughs and says ok next time when something like this comes up he will say something instead of skirting around the issue. Ok fine. So now it’s about 11 pm and I say honey what time do you have to be home? He says (as he folds his arms and grins ) “Well that’s the thing, as long as I don’t wake up my Dad or come home drunk or bleeding I can go home anytime.” EXCUSE ME? AND HE WAS SERIOUS!!!
So now Alex and I just look at each other like uhhh ok. He lives in the building behind ours literally about 40 - 50 feet away but still…….. Wait it get’s better. So now it’s after midnight and my son comes in and says “He has to go to his Mom’s house now, drive him” Again I’m like “Excuse me?” He says please drive him. Where’s his Dad? Sleeping, once it hits 10 he’s out cold. ??? I’m like uummmm not our responsibility and I thought he was going to his Mom’s house tomorrow not tonight. I said to the kid, “Honey I know it’s not your fault or whatever but we aren’t responsible for taking you back and forth between your parents.” Alex took him. I have been sitting here shaking my head and just amazed ever since. I mean WTF? 12 years old and then Alex gets back and says that he and the kid were talking and Alex said something to the effect of I’m not going to let you walk because someone your age being out this late at night alone just doesn’t sit well with me. Know what the kids response was? Are you sitting down? “It’s ok they have a $5million policy out on me anyway” (Insert wide eyed and fuming emoticon here) What must that child think? It’s ok if I die cause my parents will get a ton of money? I have a 13 year old who is allowed out till 10:30 ONLY when on Friday he goes to Church or he goes to the movies and either one of us or one of the other parents I know well is picking them up. Other than that home by 9 I don’t give a flying fig what is going on. He’s on the phone till unGodly hours and online but he is home. I speak to all his friends - most of them call me Mom - I have the Kool-Aid house lol(for lack of a better term)
So now , of course, I tell John he has a snowballs chance in Hades of sleeping over there and he gets all ticked off at me. Too bad, there is no way I am letting my son stay somewhere where I know there is no supervision. When kids stay by us, they stay up late, I usually buy a dozen Dunkin Donuts, and pizza or McDonalds and there’s always snacks here, they have free roam on the phone and play Playstation or whatever till they pass out. So - God willing - the worst thing that will happen to kids that stay here is they get a sugar and junk food overdose and are exhausted lol.
So is it just me or does this seem just a little dang strange? I just know that this kid is going to become a semi-permanent resident lol. I really don’t mind that part - it’s the reason why that annoys the heck outta me.
Oh well, it’s late, gotta do some work here I have a million ideas running through my mind for scrapbook elements, pages and Christmas gifts lol.
Have a great night/day!
T