The boy has been planning for months to attend the Warped Tour Concert in Capital City today. We agreed on one condition -- he had to get a ride. He could not drive. His Mom has been bugging him for about a month --"How are you going to get there"?
"I have a ride", he said.
Friday he assured us his friend Josh was driving. We went and bought the ticket. He paid the $42 from his own money. Last night my wife asked him what time Josh was picking him up. He replied, " Uh, I am driving now".
Uh oh. Big Problem. In our house one asks permission, you do not just inform the parents on big decisions. Two, the whole condition was that he NOT drive. He has not had his driver's licence even a year. His experience is driving around our little town. The concert venue is located in the most congested area of the big city. He does not have a clue on how to get there. If I asked him which direction to drive from our house he could only give a general wave to the Northwest. He has no experience driving in heavy traffic. Yes, Houston, we have a major problem here.
In fairness, he thought he had two different rides. The kids agreed he could go with them. The kids just did not ask their parents if they could drive. The other parents are like us. They allowed the kid could go listen to the concerts, as long as they caught a ride.
We have three options. tell him to stay home. Let him drive, armed with written directions and my GPS. Drive him myself (this is the most humiliating option, but punishes me also).
What would you do?
9 comments:
Yowsah... Tough spot.
All I know is that, as a parent, if you say (or promise) something, you damned well better mean it.
You drive him…
1. You are the hero
2. The other parents will see that you stepped up
3. You can lord it over your son and milk the shit out of it
Buy a ticket for yourself…you might just feel young again being the hip parent. The money’s been spent already. You can keep an eye on the kids to make sure that they are being responsible. Let your son drive with you in the car…he gains some of the experience he needs. There are just so many great parenting opportunities here. Being “punished” is the price of being a parent…
Just Damn!
I can only tell you what my parents would have done. They would make me stay home.
But teenagers can be very creative and resourceful when need be.
You drive, him and his friends. Listen to oldies on the way, tell lot's of stories about when you were his age. That will punish him.
You drive. Take along a book and have some coffee while he goes to the concert. You're more likely to stay awake after the concert than he is on the drive home.
I'd tell him to stay home.
He might learn something from it.
If it were my son, he'd be watching Deadliest Catch tonight at home.
When my son went to Warped a few years ago in Cleveland, he drove to a 'burb, parked at a RTA lot and rode the Rapid Transit into the city. Is there such an option where your son is going? A bus maybe?
It doesn't appear it was entirely his fault his ride(s) fell through. Work something out so he can go, then use the whole experience to say, "See what happens".
Just my .02
I'm with the "Stay home" voters.
So what happened?
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