But Will His Wife Thank Me?

Raising a respectful 16-year-old boy is tough…really tough.  He’s a good kid so my tendency is to let things slide.  I know that doesn’t do him any favors, so I try to remember to have humor and be creative but he needs to be punished sometimes.  Last night was one of those times (and warning – I don’t think I was creative or humorous in my punishment!).

So, his curfew is 11pm.  He knows that exceptions can be made if they are arranged sometime before curfew.  Well, he sent me a text message at 8:50pm.  I am notorious for NOT having my phone on me – a fact widely known in my family.  I did not see his text.  At 11:30pm, I finally call him to see where he is.   “Didn’t you see my text?” “Did you see a reply???? If not, you can assume no!” “I don’t see what the big deal is.” “Get home now!”  Then a few back and forth text messages as he can’t get a ride at nearly midnight so I decide to pick him up.  I refuse to let him have his way at this point since I put my stake in the ground earlier telling him he had to come home.  A warning text letting him know that I’m on my way and he had better not let me wait even 10-seconds in that driveway (15-miles away!) when I get there was sent.

Pull into the drive…one, two, three…nine, ten, eleven…fourteen, fifteen!  So, what do I do?  What any rational 37-year-old mother of 3 picking up her 16-year-old son at 12:30am would do.  I lay on the horn:-)  Not super proud.

No apology from him, no understanding that he needed to make sure a real person got his message and approved it.  Instead, he told me it wasn’t his fault I don’t carry my phone.  I tried, not very calmly, to explain how inconsiderate it was of him and that we have both a home phone and his dad has a cell phone, neither of which were tried.  His “you’re crazy” attitude is something I have no patience with and then I might become a little crazy (wow, I need to work on that!).  I decided that I should do something inconsiderate to him to help him understand….and I did.  As he watched, I withdrew him from his last golf tournament of the year.  Yikes!

Today I’m left wondering whether I’m helping to turn him into a strong, confident, thoughtful, kind, considerate man that any woman would want to call her husband or a spiteful, woman-hating man that will resent me for years to come….