On Patience? Maybe I’m cheating, but I went out and bought a copy of Love and Logic – teen edition. I used that book in the classroom and had great results with it. I thought it would give me some pointers for how to interact with (I had to not type REACT to) Kid 1.

I like that book because it gives you a situation and tells you what to say. When my heart is beating a bajillionty miles a minute out of anger, I rarely come out with the right thing. I needed advice in BLACK and WHITE and WORDS, stat.

My interactions with Kid 1 are. Hmmm…I just don’t know what to say. He told us his therapist is encouraging his spiritual side. Okay. Then he was interested in showing me his pictures of ghosts. 15 minutes before he told me that he was into computer programming and had hacked into his phone. That his gf had taught him basic code. When I said, “HTML?” He said, “Hunh?” I mentioned that in playing the devil’s advocate – did he think people were going to believe him if he tells them he can adjust photos and phones and programs and then shows them “ghost pictures” on his phone? He said the photos were taken two weeks ago, and he only learned code two days ago. All easily adjustable, IMHO.

However, I’m not here to fight him. I listen to what he says, but don’t offer affirmation when I don’t think it is true. I signed him up for summer school (he told us his mother was too busy.) and when he told us how expensive tattoos and new cars were, agreed with him. I thanked him for picking up his stuff and holding the door for me.

His POV’s are interesting. About the TV show Intervention he remarked that it was bad because the beginning segment showed the guy doing the drug he was addicted to. On TV, and that it showed you how to do heroin. I remained silent. I think LOOONG and HAARD before I speak. I couldn’t think of anything, so I just didn’t. In my head, I thought that if a kid really wants to do heroin? Watching a TV show where it is not glorified and shows the downside of addiction does not give you pointers or make it look like fun. Now, if it came with a phone number on the bottom saying where you could buy it in your area, that might be different.

I have a very hard time believing 90% of what comes out of his mouth. His stories change frequently, often in seconds, and it is…I don’t know if this kid knows how to tell the truth.I think he is driven by the need for approval, so I just smile when I can, recognize him for being responsible (when he is), and hope for the best.

I miss Kid 2 inexplicably. I know he is with his mom, but…I just miss him. I guess I didn’t understand that before because I was so ready for a break from him that I didn’t understand how parents miss children but this time around, I just think, “6 weeks? What the heck? That is forever!”

Funny how things change in a year, hunh?