#1 Son, who spent the night at a friend’s house, just called. The conversation went something like this:
#1 Son: Hi, Mom. Sorry I didn’t call sooner but I slept late.
Mom [who had called three times and sent two text messages to his cell phone, and was now confused by the background noise that sounded like a crowd of people]: Where are you?
#1 Son: I’m on the Max.
Mom: Where are you going?
#1 Son: I thought I’d better come home.
Mom: I can’t pick you up at the transit center.
#1 Son: Why?
Mom: Because there’s 1/2 inch of ice all over everything. I have no chains. Remember yesterday when I told you that you needed to land somewhere that you didn’t mind staying?
#1Son: But I talked to my friend in Oregon City and she looked out the window and said she thought it looked OK.
Mom: We don’t live anywhere near Oregon City. We live on the west side. We live on the north side of a hill. If you have to come home, you will have to walk.
#1 Son: Isn’t that kind of … dangerous?
Mom: Yes, but right now that’s the only way to get here. Do you have an extra pair of socks with you? Put them on over your boots and that will give you traction.
#1 Son: Really? Cool! But, no, I don’t have any extra socks. [pause] Guess I’d better go back where I was. I can still get there.
Mom: Good idea. Be careful. It’s icy.
#1 Son: Can you pick me up later?
Mom: Maybe tomorrow.
15 minutes later… the phone rings again…
#1 Son: I’m back at my friends. It’s really icy out there!
Oh… really?
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Great story! Sounds like my kids at the beginning of last year’s 5-day ice storm: “We’re going out to play.” The only way I could convince them it was dangerous was to go out myself, fall and nearly break my hand. No one left the house again until the ice melted.
1Remark from Grumpy — Saturday, 1/15/2005 @ 5:10 PM
Yes, he has that teenage faith that nothing will ever happen to him. Thank goodness the two friends that he is with now both have cars that are out of commission, so nobody is attempting to drive! I’m also glad he’s old enough to be fairly self-sufficient so I don’t have to worry unduly if he spends an extra night away from home. I have my knitting and a bottle of wine, no place I need to be and no way to get there if I did. He has strict instructions to call regularly.
2Remark from Judy — Saturday, 1/15/2005 @ 5:31 PM