Boys

In the last few years, we have been living with a teen-aged boy.  It hasn't been fun, to say the least.  Our eldest has always been willful.  Jake has never met a rule he didn't like....to break.  As parents, the shelf-life of our bluff expired about 3 years or so too early.  It made for some "interesting" situations.

He has been suspended for fighting.  He was defending a friend who got sucker-punched, but fighting is fighting. He has been put on probation for a dead raccoon.  Yep.  Dead raccoon, don't ask.  He has run away, more than once.  Once, I even thought he was dead.  It was the longest hour of my life. When we finally decided that perhaps high-school was more of a way for him to get into trouble than a way to earn an education, he went and took the GED tests, and scored #6 in the state.  Jake isn't stupid, he is just a fool.  He is his own worst enemy, and he needs to stop hurting himself.

Jake doesn't get along with his father.  His dad thinks he should shape up and stop tattooing "Dude" on his back.  Jake thinks his dad needs to mind his own business, especially since Jake is now 18.  I think Jake needs to grow up, deal with his problems and BOTH of them need to stop bickering right now.

Dads want their sons to be good men, responsible men.  If they aren't toeing the line, they are a poor reflection of said dad's parenting skills.  Dads want to know that you are doing right.  They want you to not be stealing, or smoking dope, or embarrassing the family in some other deviant way.

Moms....we just want to know you are still on this planet. At the end of the day, all we ask is that you are still breathing.  So, call your mom, guys.  She just wants to know you are still on the right side of the dirt.  For her, it is the only test you ever have to pass.