This May my teenage son, Tony, complained about needing money during his summer break at UCF. My wife, Teresa, said, jokingly, "Hey, I'd pay you to take your brother away." Tony asked, in all seriousness, how much. And the Summer of Unexpected Delight began.
For a bit less than it usually cost us to board, feed, and amuse his 12-year-old brother, James, we offered to pay Tony to act as a one-boy summer camp. Provide a couch, Internet access, take him to the pool and to movies and generally keep him occupied. Arts and crafts were optional. Before either son could think this through we dumped James -- along with his computer, his TV, enough gaming consoles to launch a successful invasion of the eastern hemisphere, a handful of clothes, and a toothbrush -- at Tony's Orlando apartment and we drove off, laughing gaily and high-fiving each other.
We knew it couldn't last. We weren't entirely sure they wouldn't beat us home. Tony and James, seven years apart, have a healthy and spirited fratricidal relationship that would have fit right into any of your more common Greek tragedies. We fully anticipated seeing James back within a week, and then only if we changed the locks on the sixth day to slow him up. But hey, even a quiet afternoon would be a nice change of pace.
And then, the impossible happened. The boys didn't kill each other. Not even once.
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Instead of waiting for crashing sounds, why not try GPS tracking collars? I hear they are cheaper if you buy them in bulk.
Posts: 516 | Registered: Aug 2004
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If you were wondering why I haven't been around Hatrack much, this is why.
I did skip the part where we were going to remodel his room while he was away -- repaint, new carpet, new furniture, the works -- and didn't do anything until the very last week because a) it rained every single day here from mid-May til the beginning of July, and b) we didn't wanna. It made the last week somewhat... hectic.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Makes the time with kids so much more enjoyable.
