Mason started high school this year and he’s loving it. He’s loving the open campus, his teachers, and the freedom at lunchtime to go out to eat. I’ve been encouraging Dave to back off and let Mason start really stepping up and taking responsibility for getting up on time, working with his teachers, homework, etc.
Our neighbor takes her son to PHS on her way to work and invited Mason to ride with them. She said, “I can’t be late so the latest I ever leave at 7:35, you need to be outside waiting for me.” I told Mason you need to be outside at 7:30 and ready to go. The first day she called and he ran outside. The second day she called and he was already out the door but she hadn't seen him yet. The third Day she left without him. Perfection! Things had been going well until yesterday when before bed I said to Mason, “Your dad does not have to work tomorrow and I don’t have to be up early so be sure to get yourself up and get outside to ride with Jen in the morning." He said Okay.
This morning I didn’t hear any activity but I stayed in bed. Finally, I heard him up and moving and thought oh good. As I heard him run down the stairs and the front door closed I looked at the clock and it was 7:36. I wondered, "Did he make it?" Nope! I heard the door open and he came upstairs and he busted into my room and he said, “Jen left, it was only 736!" I said, "Oh that sucks." He left our room. As Dave and I lay there I wondered if he would ride his bike or what he might be doing. Dave asked me if I was going to take him to school and I noted he didn’t ask me to take him. Dave said he’s going to be late for school and I agreed, "Yeah probably." A few minutes later, really more like 20 minutes Mason came in and said, "Mom are you going to take me to school?!" I said, "Oh do you do you need something?" Exasperated, he said, "I need a ride to school, you know that!" I said, "I don't have to go to school. You didn’t ask me to take you to school. Exasperated he said, "It’s implied. I need to get to school." I said, "You have legs, you have a bike…" He left the room and immediately came back in and in a very fake polite frustrated voice said, "Mom, will you please take me to school?" I said, "Oh you need a ride to school? Okay let me get up and get dressed and brush my teeth, I’ll be ready in a few minutes."
I took him to school and on the way, I said, "Look, here’s the deal, Jen said she can’t leave one minute past 7:35 which means you need to have your happy ass outside at 7:30. If you were getting out the door at the very last minute and you have a car and a job and your car doesn’t start, will it be implied that someone is taking you to work? Um, no. You need to take responsibility to make sure you get where you need to be and you get there on time." Later in the day, Dave added, "If you miss your ride, you better get on your bike and hustle to school. Be sure your bike lock is handy and ready to go. It's called a Plan-B."
It will be interesting to see how next week goes, but suffice it to say, he's getting some real-life lessons in what it means to be responsible, and to take responsibility when he's not making the grade.
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