Saturday, August 16, 2008

Generation Y Why?

Tonight as I drove home, I saw the most beautiful moon hanging in a dusky blue sky. I ran in the door to grab my camera so I could show you the Moon Over Rudee's house and discovered, someone had taken it. My camera. Not the picture. You really aren't missing much, especially if you happened to look up at that beautiful moon with your own eyes tonight. I'm missing something though. It didn't take long to put two and two together and figure out whodunit. My son. He took my camera away for the weekend without asking if I needed it. Well, I didn't exactly need it, but I wanted it.

I have some other things missing too. My ear buds for my Ipod. I've purchased 3 since January and I can't find any of them. Come to think of it, I don't know where my Bose noise reducing headphones are either. He has lost one Ipod shuffle, one Ipod and countless pairs of ear buds. When he loses his, he goes shopping for new ones. He doesn't have to go far-just to the counter to take mine. When I ask for them, he tells me he has NOOOOO idea where they may be.

For further evidence that I have a problem here, I'd like to submit the following for your consideration. I got a new MacBook in February. It belongs to the three of us-me, myself and I. Nobody else. When I look at it though, it's all his. The Itunes songs? 90% his. The desktop pictures? Those fluctuate between pictures of golf, golf courses and mustangs. All his. Nothing around here is sacred.

Lastly, before I let him have it, I'd like to share this morning's kerfuffle that involved him. I don't know how he did it, but he managed to completely mess up my checking account this week. One of his online payments was returned for insufficient funds. His tuition payment. Now this should have been a tuition check that was paid a month ago. To help with the pain of his tuition, we space the payments out over 5 months. For some reason, he didn't pay July's and when he did, something got mucked up. Today, I have an overdraft fee to my checking account and a returned check fee to the tuition management company. This month's tuition is costing me double the amount and $70 for the bouncing abilities of my checks. My son's reaction? "Oops." It's not his money, it's mine; why should he care?

I remember when he was just a wee babe. He had the worst colic. I'd walk and rock him, walk and rock and walk some more just to get him to sleep. I remember wishing he'd outgrow this terrible malady. Well that'll show me to be careful what I wish for! He's outgrown his colic and developed a raging case of apathy. I've no clue how to treat this disorder. Do you?

11 comments:

laurie said...

i'm no good to you, being childless.

but i have vivd memories of being a teenager and i remember how completely self-absorbed i was. i think they're hardwired that way and there's little if anything you can do to change that.

you CAN change the physical world around him--lock up the laptop; lock up your earbuds; lock up your camera, etc.

but that doesn't feel quite right to me either.

you know in your heart it's his age, not the way he's going to be forever. keep reminding him that the world doesn't revolve around him. and some day he'll figure out that's true.

Brenda said...

I have no answers for you Rudee. Just a hug and a pat on your back and to say "I understand what you are going through". Maybe someday they will just be stories that you all share about the days gone by. Although everyone seems to have their own version of the memory! It is amazing to learn or hear things that our kids did once upon a time, right under our noses. That reminds me of some stuff I did that my parents never knew about! Ha Ha...pretty funny when it happened so many years ago! The point to what I am saying is..it is frustrating now but will one day be a memory. For now, maybe you could write notes on your stuff to remind him whose it is. I use to write notes all over the house, saying "turn out lights"..."close refrigerator door" or else you will pay the electric bill. Oh well..long winded comment with no help to you..sorry!

Rositta said...

I don't know how old this boy is but nip it in the bud if you can. Make him pay the 70 bucks. I tend to be a bit tough love that way. Having said that, my offspring who is 42 is here visiting and I haven't been able to find anything since he arrived plus his stuff and baby stuff all over the house for me to trip over, sigh...we love them anyway don't we...ciao

the rotten correspondent said...

Well, we all know that I have no answers for you. All I can offer is solidarity in the sisterhood. Not much, but there you go.

Wait. How about this? We can each hold one down while the other lets him have it. Then we can swap kids so yours and mine each get to experience the motherly wrath.

Whaddya think? I think it has potential.

Rudee said...

Laurie: you are wise. I hope he outgrows this but since he is 20, I'm hoping it's soon.

Brenda: if I leave notes, I'll get them in return that point out all my flaws. Not that I think I have any, but I'm sure he thinks I do. hahahahahaha.

Rositta, I'll have to loan him the $70 to pay me back. Please tell me you aren't doing your son's laundry. Pretty please.

RC, we could put them in a barren room and do the crazy arab mom loses her mind act (which isn't an act at all) that will have them begging for mercy. It's a great idea.

Anonymous said...

Are the golf clubs home? Sounds like an even trade to me....$70 bucks for a set of golf clubs....




FTM

Rositta said...

Nope, not doing laundry, in fact he cooks dinner for all of us and cleans up at the end of the day. There's just so much stuff lying around and it makes me crazy but I know I will miss them when they go back home Tuesday...ciao

Rudee said...

FTM, I'd like your idea. i think he took his clubs with him. I really don't want to know their combined value but which club should I snatch?

Anonymous said...

I could use the driver. Nice Callaway. Value 150+ pretty even trade I would say.


Ftm

laurie said...

he's 20? well, in that case, i agree with rositta. make him pay the $70.

you have to lend him a money? hell. make him get a job.

Rudee said...

Laurie, he has a job working for his sister. I should snag his check when it comes in the door. To make certain though, I'm going to hold his calloway driver hostage.