to my new "friend"

dear mom of boy2's friend,

thank you for repeatedly calling my house early on Saturday morning when your delinquent son tells you that "boy2's mom said ......." since your son has always been completely honest with you, of course you should believe everything he says about me. of course the best thing for you to do is call my house and rip me apart for my son's behavior.

may i point out, once again, that my son has never been sent to a foreign country for a year because we couldn't control him? may i also point out, that my son passed his test? (did you even have yours tested?...oh wait, it was his bong...sorry, i forgot) i'm pretty sure my child is not completely at fault here.

really? can we just admit that our boys make stupid decisions when together and quit all the stupid finger pointing? let's try this: we will continue to do the best we can at this parenting game and we suggest that you do the same. if you would like to sit down and CALMLY discuss boundaries for our boys, we are more than willing.

and as far as your excuse that you are a single mom and i can't possible understand what that is like? you're right, i don't know how hard it is to raise kids alone. but last time i looked around, there are lots of successful people who were raised in a single parent home.

learn the word "no" and enforce it. when he comes home late and under the influence, take his phone and computer away. drive him to school and pick him up. if he's not there, call the police and report him as a runaway. if he's leaving campus during the day, ask for permission to attend school with him. take a good book and sit in the back of all his classes. he's not as tough as he pretends to be. call his bluff. show up randomly at the places he says he's going. keep him off balance. who cares if you look like an overly-protective mom? our job is to raise them to be productive members of society. there are no rules about how we accomplish that.  as soon as he knows that you are willing to do ANYthing to help him succeed, he'll calm down.

parenting isn't easy and sometimes we have to be "out of control" to get our point across. your son needs to know two things: 1. that you love him more than anything and 2. that there is no limit to what you will do if you think he is in trouble and headed down the wrong path.

oh... and sorry about that intense message on your machine....the sentiment is accurate but i probably could have conveyed it in a more mature manner.

sincerely,
boy2's mom

p.s. if you call my machine and go off like that again, i will file harrassment charges. i have no pride and no problem being extreme....ask my kids.