It will be a quiet day (for me, anyway) and I'm grateful for that. William and Grandpa are headed to a family birthday party which begins at one. I've got an appointment to get a hair cut at 2. It sounds selfish probably, but the advance notice for the party was very short. I haven't had a hair cut since the end of January, and I've been looking very forward to this. William has filled out the card and I'm making a dish to pass.
While they are gone, I'm headed back over to the rental to 'edge' around the ceilings, baseboards and windows in the dining room. Tim will come along later and paint the rest using a roller. He's fast and efficient at that. I'm messy. A lot of spatter. It takes me twice as long, probably because I'm trying so hard not to make a mess.
So, me and my trusty bottle of Goof-Off will head over for a leisurely afternoon of painting while listening to Mumford and Sons radio on Pandora. Goof-Off is for those little paint speckles. I just saturate a bit of rag with some. The house has hardwood floors and any paint spatters just wipe right up, leaving no trace at all that you'd screwed up.
I have often thought that I need a product like that for life in general, which can get pretty damn messy, can't it?
He understood, he answered. 'That sure wasn't going to happen again...'
I woke up at 3 and headed down the hall to the bathroom. Much to my surprise, William's bedroom door was still open. I looked and sure enough, he was not in bed. He was still downstairs! He got a stern scolding and sent to bed.
This morning, I woke up at 8. Tim had left early to go turkey hunting, but when he got back, he and William had plans to mow two lawns. William was counting on them to take his VR money up to $170+. He's getting close to that VR. Knowing that the plans were to get the lawns done before the birthday party, I headed to William's room to get him up.
I tried to talk to him about the previous night and how upset I was about that.
"I lost track of time," he answered in a reasonable voice.
I pointed out that Grandpa and I had gone to bed before 10. He is surrounded by chiming key wound clocks and a cuckoo. It is kind of hard not to be aware of the time in this house. I pointed out that he'd played for 5 hours and even in the worst known case of obliviousness, it wasn't plausible to me that he'd lost track of the time for five hours. I said that in my opinion, at some point during the night, he became aware of the time, but simply chose to ignore it.
He insisted that he had no idea of the time.
I said, "You know, you have a choice whether to take responsibility for your own actions or to cover it all up. You've lost your tablet for the day."
He was outraged. He went into a small rant, saying, among other things, "It's not MY fault. Nobody told me what time to go to bed!"
That plainly made me mad. While we did not give him a bedtime, we did make it clear we expected him to be upstairs before midnight. He was shifting the blame for his behavior to us. I said, "Well, you've lost the tablet for tomorrow as well. When you're ready to accept responsibility for your poor choices, come talk to me." I went out to make my coffee.
He followed me out to the kitchen, and he was in a fine fettle then. I said, "If you don't stop, I swear to Jesus that you're going to lose the tablet for a week."
Immediate silence. He stomped away in a temper.
His grandfather returned from turkey hunting, and sent him off to get ready to do lawnmowing. We had a quiet discussion about what had happened. William was back in the room in an instant, listening intently, protesting. Tim is not a shouter. He rarely raises his voice. He yelled, "I've heard enough of this! You don't have your tablet for the weekend, and You. Do. Not. Want. To. Keep. Complaining!"
William went silent immediately. He continued getting ready to go do his jobs. He has been quite helpful this morning. I'll bet he is wishing that he had a bottle of 'Goof Off' to fix this screw up.
The manhunt continues, with surprisingly little information being given out. I don't know what that means, exactly. Do the police believe that he's still in our area? Personally, I believe that he's long gone, but William's school was in lockdown yesterday. They did not tell the kids what was going on. They just rounded them all up and they spent the afternoon in the cafeteria playing games and watching movies.
I also saw that the school district was not comfortable sending children home. Parent pick up was a requirement and all parents would be required to show ID. Unfortunately, I did not find this out until Saturday morning. Usually there is a telephone notification that advises these things. There is nothing on the school website. William walked home, same as usual, in the regular herd of walkers.
What does that mean? Do they think he's no longer in the area?
Dunno. This is crazy. Social media is blowing up with rumors. No official word on any of it.
Wherever he is, though, you can bet that he is wishing he had a bottle of Goof-Off.
This is what I dread with Jack, the teen years. I don't do well with teenagers. And yes, I want that goof off to get rid of my past mistakes:)
ReplyDeleteIt is tough at times, but there are the rewards too. Today was a horrible day. All 3 of us lost our cool. At the end of the day, we were able to talk it through.
DeleteGood off sounds like good stuff!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, teenagers...at least only one, try it with four...
We had five at once...
DeleteIt is a challenge isn't it!!
DeleteTricky... all round.
ReplyDeleteToday was very tricky.
DeleteOf course you know this already, but William's pushing to see where the boundaries are. He'll be better for these experiences...but it must drive you and Tim crazy!
ReplyDeleteHe met up with boundaries today.
DeleteI like the idea of Goof Off for life. I would erase a few things--where to even start? Hope that William has learned from this event. It sometimes takes teens a number of times/consequences to get the picture.
ReplyDeleteGosh I hope so. No late nights for him any more. He was a stinker
DeleteI could use a crate of Goof Off...and I ain't painting, either!
ReplyDeleteParanormal John
John, I dropped a bucket of paint from the top of a ladder. William was being fretful, I tried to rush... It was a disaster. You step away from that crate of goof off, mister.
DeleteI'd better not say too much; I lost track of time a couple of nights ago and found myself reading at 2am. By sheer coincidence I also lost track of time the next morning, but I was asleep that time so I had an excuse!
ReplyDeleteI too have read far longer than I should have. I knew I should put down the book but lacked the willpower.
DeleteI use those canvas drop cloths that come three feet wide or so and just unroll them under where I am trimming or painting. But it is nice to know about Goof Off. I usually just scrape it gently with a razor blade.
ReplyDeleteI feel you on the William/bedtime thing. There are many times where I have escalated punishments for pointless continued debates coming from my girls. It didn't take them long to figure out that once I ruled it was final.
Sadly, I do use the very same drop cloths.
DeleteYou’re smart to set the boundaries right away! It’s not easy.. we always said our eldest daughter would make a fine lawyer, as she would just not quit arguing! Drove us mad, but fortunately it only lasted a short period of time. And I’d sure like some goof-off for so many things!! Have a good rest of the weekend😊Ricki
ReplyDeleteWilliam just pesters. He would make a great mosquito.
DeleteI like the idea of 'Goof Of' for life in general.
ReplyDeleteI could have used a bucket today. I dropped a gallon of paint.
DeleteIf the school was requiring parent pickup with ID, how did William and his group get out and walk home? Someone dropped the ball.
ReplyDeleteParents were not notified. When things like this come up, we are supposed to be notified by a text blast. No one was notified, as far as I can tell.
DeleteYou are both doing a great job with William and I know that deep down, he realises this.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. He was tired and difficult. It was not a good day.
DeleteThis goof could use some of dat dere stuff.
ReplyDeleteGet in line, mister, get in line.
DeleteYou show far more patience than I could at this age, Debby. And persistence.
ReplyDeleteWhat a strange situation, re. the manhunt. Seems like they should be telling you a lot more than they are.
ReplyDeleteNow that I see why William was so tired, I retract my "poor guy" comment on your subsequent post. :)