No. No good days allowed for me.
Work is work, nothing interesting going on there... except using every free second to try and come up with games and ideas for the Pokemon Pool Party Tyler is having in 2 weeks for his birthday. This is the first time he wanted a theme that wasn't motorcycles. First time for a few things at this party. This time I'm not inviting the usual suspects. This time, its just Tyler's' friends and my immediate family and friends at my parents house. He will be at his dads on his actual birthday so hopefully he is doing something with everyone else for that. Check back for a report.
...Back to summer and it being the first day and things are supposed to be shiny and fun and freedom should be running through my kids veins.... that's how I felt the first day of summer vacation when I was growing up. Times are a changin though.
When I arrived to pick up my kids from my parents house, already late from having to stop at 2 different stores on the way home, I was greeted by Joe, who was wearing a shirt that was completely torn down one side... all the way through... why even keep it on at that point? He says a girl did it. Perfect. You are 9 and a girl just ripped your shirt off. Excellent. It was then that I noticed the charred pieces of skateboard sitting on the dumpster... what the???? I'm told there is a troubled youth living in the area and he thought it would be a grand idea to steal my kids skateboard out of the front yard, take it to his home and set it on fire, and then bring the pieces back and drop them back in the yard. This child has obviously never met my dad. My dad has a VERY SCARY angry face. Seriously, you can feel the daggers shooting from his eyes and the tension in the air that makes you wonder if he is going to just stand there or rip your body limb from limb before you can yell for Help!
My dad, led by a gang of elementary school kids, went to this kids mothers house to speak to her. When they arrived the mom, dad and kid were all in the yard. From my dads story, he looked at that kid with Tyler's broken and burnt skateboard in his hands and said "Did you do this?" Nothing. "Did YOU do this to my grandsons skateboard?" The dad tried to step in. My dad looked him right in the eye, and I KNOW he did, and said "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to him." Looked at the kid and said again "Did YOU do this to my grandsons skateboard?" The kid answered, "Yes".
The parents tried to offer a new one but my dad told them no thanks. He also told them that if he finds out this kids is setting other things in the neighborhood on fire or stealing or anything that it doesn't matter that this kid is in elementary school, he WILL call the police. Don't for 1 second think he won't. My dad spoke this way, with that look on his face, to some neighborhood trouble maker when I was about the same age as my kids are now. I will NEVER forget that moment. I bet that kid didn't either. Hopefully this kid doesn't either. Its a VERY SCARY scary face.
So after picking up my kids and their torn clothes and burnt belongings I headed home where we found a package I ordered sitting on the porch. I ordered more Styrofoam balls for Joe's chair. He had smooshed the thing completely flat somehow. I told Joe to not open them because it would make a mess and to wait until I was ready.
He tells me that it accidentally opened.....
My response, and I MAY have been yelling when I said it, was "THIS was NOT an accident. THIS was a CHOICE. Watch me right now while I make a CHOICE." As I unplugged the xbox and walked out of the room.
...That was it for me. Nothing got done that needed to get done. I went to bed with a MUCH bigger mess than I started the day with but I can tell you that not once did a kid come calling my name or ask me for ANYTHING for the rest of the night.
Let's hope day 2 goes a little bit smoother.
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