And another thing...

Someone's knocking and it ain't opportunity.

My yearly bout of cleaning frenzy was interrupted tonight by a knock on the door. The kind that every parent dreams of. I open the door and this guy says, "Are you so-and-so's mother?"

Lovely, "What did he do?"

"Well he didn't do anything, but his buddy busted my tail light." That's just great. I knew in an instant who he was referring to and I am not surprised.

Last night I dropped the boy off at his friends house and he told me he was going to another friends. I ask him who and he tells me, "Buddy"

"Buddy who?"

"Buddy Boy."

"The same Buddy Boy who tore the cable off the side of our house last summer?" This kid is trouble, always been in trouble, for the stupidest things this kid gets in trouble.

"Ya, but he's not like that anymore, Mom. He's trying to get his life together." Always willing to give the benefit of the doubt, I say, "Fine, but if you get in trouble I am not coming for you, I will send your father." He assures me they are just going to play PS2.

So, back to the guy at my door. I tell him, "I know exactly who did this, it was Buddy Boy. Talk to the police, they know him." Even though this guy knows that my boy didn't do this, I tell him that we will pay for half the tail light.

Later when the boy comes home, I tell him this and he goes ballistic. Why should he have to pay when he didn't do anything. I explain to him that sometimes you have to pay for the bad choices you make in life. This time it was hanging with at kid that gets into trouble at the drop of a hat. I told him, "Just be thankful that the kid hadn't decided to burn someone's house down while you were with him."

The boy is more upset that he can't hang with this kid, he says he is nice, and they have fun playing PS2 and just hanging. But this kid is not wired right. He has more problems than anyone knows.

What kind of person just walks down the street and decides at random to bust someone's tail light? For someone who is 'trying to get his life together' he sure has a funny way of showing it.