::Serendipity::

She Did It! ________________________________________________________________

I am the mother of a daughter with a permit to drive a motor vehicle. Oh. My. Crap.

Since when did I become old enough to have a teenager behind the wheel of a car? I remember my dad teaching me how to drive. Not good. Thankfully, my ever so patient grandfather *really* taught me how to drive. Now the fun starts as I let her drive around the neighborhood. Prayers would be appreciated. So would a few gallons of Jameson's Irish Whiskey. I may need it for after. Heh.

~~**~~

So my SIL calls me tonight in tears. After spending all day cleaning my basement yesterday as punishment for her sons not doing their chores, she came home to find they didn't finish their chores today. And the son she confiscated the laptop from had found where she hid it and was busily My Space-ing. The boys apparently learned nothing. So Michael and I stopped by on our way out to dinner tonight so he could do a little follow through. The girl works so hard. There is no reason why her 15 and 13 year old son's can't do simple chores. She can't even trust them to watch youngest Nephew! She shouldn't even need me when they aren't in school! Oh, and Michael brought Nephew's laptop home with us. Take that, smarty pants.

Michael laid the smack down. They will now be spending their weekend cleaning out our garage. If they still can't get it through their thick skulls that they need to do their own dishes and fold the laundry and pull at least a little weight and respect their mom, then they get to clean dead brush on the back acre of our house. And hey, I always wanted to paint the living room. Heehee.

I can't imagine being a single mom. Having to be the bad guy all the time. Having no one to back you up. How exhausting! Coupled with the stress of trying to keep them all in food and a home and heating fuel has got to be crippling. Not to mention a divorce from hell and no child support. I'm so glad she let Michael help her out. She's done it all on her own forever. She just wants to find someone who will take care of her for a change. I hope she finds him.

I'm so blessed.

After Michael blasted the boys, and SIL blasted the boys, I felt I had to add my touch. I told them how proud Michael is of them, and how he tells people all the time how talented they are and I listed their interests and achievements. Oldest nephew got tears in his eyes. I told them that we love them, or we wouldn't care so much, but the days of giving their mom the finger is over. If they want to be treated as adults, they need to act more like adults. After being yelled at, I hope bringing out some emotion in them was a good thing.

Problem is, they've never had a dad around who was an adult. The Mayor spent his days on Playstation 2 or surfing the net for porn and working on cars. Most of all, I find it so incredibly sad for them that they can't be trusted to look out for their baby brother. They just aren't responsible. And sure, Michael likes his computer games. But he plays them with the kids. And he has a J-O-B and supports his family. Our kids respect that. Because I make sure they do. SIL has it so much harder and her boys don't seem to comprehend her sacrifices at all. I love them so, and they are so wonderful! I just don't understand why they act the way they do... The garage is a lot bigger. Maybe a whole Saturday spent doing that will help sink the message deeper into their smooth brains. I hope!

posted by Terri at 6/14/2008 02:06:00 AM >4 comments

4 Comments:

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