| Sunday, November 05, 2006 |
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Overheard in my truck today... |
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First 13-year old Girl: So, what do you think of weeds? Second 13-year-old girl: Weeds are hard to get rid of. Me: Are you two talking about boys? First 13 YOG: We're not very subtle, are we? Me: Don't worry about it, the boys will never figure it out. They then explained to me that some boys are flowers, even though some are not the most fragrant or beautiful in the meadow, and some are just weeds - hard to get rid of and growing in places you don't want them to be. So would the boys figure it out? My first guess is that they were talking about the maryjane, but they are too clever to call it weed, and I am guessing they would never talk about it in front of me. It takes a few more years of trustbuilding before my teens talk about partying in front of me. I scored points years ago with my then-seniors when I turned them onto vitamin B to help with the hangover factor. I figured I could tell them not to party, and they would think I was a ninny and do it anyway, or I could help them recover and get their butts to their jobs and classes. I struggle with the hypocrisy of drug use and drinking. I partied my ass off, mostly just drinking (thank goddess they invented wine coolers when I was in HS - praise Bartle and James), got great grades, held a job, did extracurriculars, didn't die in a firey wreck, and who the hell would I be if I told my high schoolers to not drink? I sure as hell am not going to encourage it, and I'm not the cool older friend who buys them beer. I honestly think they drink less than they smoke, since the cheeb is easier for them to get, and has less noticeably negative side effects. One of my 9th graders told me last week that kids in his school were doing heroin in the bathroom. HEROIN! What is going on?!! I don't expect every kid to be in their church youth group (if they even have a church/synagogue/coven/whathaveyou), become an Eagle Scout, get straight A's or those other things that are supposed to identify "good kids", but can't they just be kids? So I spent the afternoon again wrangling teenagers, trying to keep my Mom from ruining all their fun, and listening to one of my friends complain about his father-in-law, the retired marine who forgets that everyone else is not a marine. My mom bought the youth group in the church auction to come out to her house and do some yard work. They drug downed branches around and threw them into the truck for the burn heap, flirted, ate, raked leaves when one of them lost a ring in the grass, and goofed off. At one point they were throwing leaves and jumping in piles of them and Mom said, "They're acting like children." I had to remind her that they are children. They are supposed to act like that, not shoot up heroin in their high school bathroom. Not exactly what I was hoping for in a Sunday afternoon, but OK nonetheless. What I was really looking for was a beer, followed by a nap. I hope that that the teens learn as much from me as I do from them, and I can always sleep when I'm dead.
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| posted by Rosie @ 11/05/2006 05:02:00 PM |
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