My nephew flew down Friday afternoon, as he starts at the College of Charleston tomorrow. So, we spent the weekend driving to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Office Depot, etc. purchasing the things he needed to start school.
On Saturday, I took him to lunch, we packed his stuff into my car, and we moved him into his dorm (in record-breaking heat, I might add - I heard it got to 107+ here on Saturday), and made a second trip for more supplies.
KSG and I took him to Sunday brunch, then to Target and Office Depot for one last resupply, and dropped him back at the dorm - and that’s where the idea hit me.
I think that they should make at-risk teens drive a kid around for a week - taking them to school, to football/ballet/swimming practice, clothes shopping, to the grocery store, etc. I know that after two-and-a-half days of it, I learned that:
1) I still enjoy my time too much to put it all on the backburner for my kid(s) (which I will gladly do someday. Just not today).
2) There is no way in HELL that I could afford to have a kid right now. Z probably spent close to $1,000 this weekend on everything from bedding to books. I don’t drink $1 PBR just because they taste so good…
As my nephew was loading the final storage bins into his dorm room, I called my parents, and just said, “thanks. thanks for taking me to countless practices/games/camps/shopping trips/movies/doctor’s appointments/feeding me/clothing me/sheltering me/etc.” I always appreciated it, but it just hit me over the head like a whack-a-mole mallet at 2:30PM on Sunday, when I could finally start MY weekend (which consisted of buying groceries, setting up an air filter, cooking dinner, and getting to watch the Simpsons)!
So, Thanks Mom and Dad.
And kids, don’t make the babies yet.
Ahoy mateys,
-KS