Sunday, September 12, 2004

Must.... Restraint....Fists....Of.....Death

Boys. Teenage boys to be specific. It's amazing any of them survive to adulthood. Myself being one, I know whereof I speak.

Camie asked if she and her friend Jamie could have a couple of boys from school come visit at my apartment for a few hours this evening.

That in and of itself should be enough to send me over the egde, and it nearly was. Now, I believe I am in full control of my faculties. I don't suffer from alzheimer's, I'm not senile, or drunk. And yet, I still said "yes".

God, help me. Please. And if not ME, help these little boys.

They were normal boys, as boys go. A bit gangly. One was a ruddy red-head loudmouth, about 13; the other a bit taller, longish hair, skater-looking boy, probably 14. (God, was I this awkward at that age? Probably... but I know I was a damn site better behaved.)

For instance: both of these boys live about 2 or 3 miles from me. Both of them arrived on foot, with no parents ever checking with me to see if it was OK if they come over, or even to see if they arrived alive, or anything. I've never even spoken to their parents! What parents let their 13 & 14 year old sons wander the town at 6 or 7pm without even knowing where the hell they are?!?

They were noisy, rude, and just... what's the word... not respectful or civlilized. I don't mean "civilized" as in unable to flush a toilet or brush their teeth, but uncivilized in the things that boys used to be taught.

Like when you go to someone's home, especially someone who's parents you've never met, you always act on your best behavior. These kids were anything BUT on their best behavior. They weren't wild monkeys, but they had no problem being loud, jumping around the room, wandering through the kitchen, plopping down on the couch, etc....

Now, I know it's within my power and purview to stop their behavior immediately in my home. I have no problem with that. But, being the first time I'd met them, I wanted to see how they behaved "au natural", if you will. I could put on a big gruff the very first time I met them, and they'd behave just great from the start, but I wanted to get a feel for who they are naturally.

I must say, I'm not impressed.

Parenting. It's all about parenting, or the lack of it. I'm not a perfect parent, and this evening brought to my attention a few deficiencies in my own daughter that I will need to correct, but at least my eyes are open. Some parents just don't see, or worse, don't think it's a problem. Every time I hear a parent say "boys will be boys" to excuse bad behavior, I feel like punching them.

Anyway, I'd much rather have the boys come to my place to visit Camie, because inevitably, she will have boyfriends, and I'd be just as comfortable keeping things in sight here, where I can throttle them if I need to, than out of sight at the boy's house.

Have I even mentioned I'm really glad I had girls instead of boys?

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