I Miss Those Stray Puff Balls

For many years, I was the chosen sucker for stray cats. I am not exagerating, but every couple of months, maybe once a year, some furry black critter would show up on my door step. And, yes, most of the cats "dumped" on me were black. I was "given" a Calico. Unfortunately, she's still with me and thankfully she likes the great outdoors, (she's evil). But, the majority of these puff balls have been black.

We can analyze the color black as well. Let's see..........the majority of the clothing I own is black. My new car is black. My bedding, except for the red duvet is black. And, my "man-friend" (his words, not mine) is black. There is definetly some pattern here.....I don't think I want to delve into. Oh, and the computer, MacBook thing that I am currently typing on? Yeah, i black. So, we've established I have some obsession with the color black.

The last puff that was dumped on me was a pregnant teenager that my son named Annie. She had an attitude but was pretty cool with me and even allowed me to hold her kittens shortly after they were born. I really don't know what happened to Annie. She was with us for only a short while. We found her dead in the alley behind my house. Personally, I think some jerk-off poisoned her. Who knows........People can really suck at times.

I did keep two of her kittens and they are the most wonderful boys on earth. Get this.....one of the brothers is actually grey......the other? Black. They will be eleven in July. When my sons were younger, they accused me of loving the "kittens" more than them. No, that wasn't the case. But, the kittens had an advantage over the boys and I tried to explain it to them. Very simple.....the kittens didn't talk back!

Obviously, it's been many years since I have been the target of "Kitty Dumping." I traded that hat in for a new one.
TEENAGER DUMPING!

I am really, seriously, questioning some "people's" parenting skills or lack there of..........And, I am most certainly not saying I am the perfect mother but honestly? I have always been very liberal, but I am leaning towards making it a crime for some people, perhaps many people to breed.

There have been minor cases when I have come home from work to kind some kid crashed out on my couch to later learn that he was kicked out of his own home. Ok....a few hours he's here, gets something to eat then goes stays with a relative until things can be worked out at home.......Home......I use that term so very lightly.

Now, I have had two very serious episodes that have basically emotionally drained me. The first episode was late last summer. My son was dating Crazy Girl in Southern California. While he was down there visiting her, her mother, whom I had never met.......(my ex-husband did) called me and asked me if her daughter could come up here, with me, and stay for a few weeks. I was totally taken off-guard. Bascially, floored. The key words here are: We never met and I live oh, about 400 miles north of her. And? Your daughter is a minor child. She and my son are one year apart. But the difference is my son is an adult and Crazy Girl isn't.....Trust me, the adult versus "child" thing bothered me as well. The whole damn relationship pissed me off and still pisses me off! See older post.

As our conversation grew longer, so did her time frame for her daughter's visit. She gravitated the conversation towards registering her for high school up here; her senior year, no doubt. I couldn't speak. I told her I would have to think about this long and hard and to please not pressure me for an immediate answer. Wow! You don't even know me lady and you want your crazy daughter to come stay with me. Apples really don't fall far from the trees.

It only took me about an hour, at the most...... to call her back up and say.......NO. I can't do this........I have too much going on in my own life and MY kids' lives to have another person stay with us. She couldn't understand why I could not allow her daughter to stay with us. Well, first lady.....I really don't want her sleeping in my son's bed.......that's a little wierd for me. And? She most certainly is NOT sleeping with me!

I really think she was more pissed at the fact that she could not pawn off her parental responsibilities on to someone else. This girl is troubled.....very troubled. I have stated before that the greatest gift her parents could give her would be help. She is mentally ill and I am sure her mother is stressed out.....but keywords..........mother.........responsibility!

The most recent incident was just the other night. It was pouring down rain. Perhaps, it was winter's last hoorah because, I swear it's over 90 degrees right now. But anyway, it was cold and rainy. My older boy was out with a bunch of friends and came home pretty late. He was very surprised to find me still awake and I new, immediately, that something was up.

He wasn't alone. Standing behind him was this little, tiny girl........size wise.......I actually think I may be taller than her and I am taller than no one. But, she needed a place to stay because her father locked her out. She just recently moved her to live with her father. He doesn't allow her to do anything, so she sneaks.

I was, WAS.......a very strict parent until I figured out that only leads to kids "sneaking around" and lying. I would rather my kids tell me the truth, no matter how much I am not going to like it, than to lie or sneak. So, instead of having this huge discussion at midnight, I allowed her to stay.

The next morning, we all talked. Yes, she sneaked out of her house to hang out with her friends and her father found out and decided her punishment would be to be locked out. Locked out to sleep in the rain or the laundry room of her appartments. Real Safe for a young lady........great logic........DAD!I Personally, if it was me, I would have waited for my boy's ass to get home, thank God he was safe, tell him to get to bed and take away everything the next day for a very long time. But? I would never lock him out. It really isn't very safe out on the street. Duh!

I was also able to talk with the girl's mother and get to the bottom of this mess. We got her home safely and I guess, according to my son, she's working things out with her father. My son and I have had several conversations regarding his choice of women. Yeah...........this is going to be an ongoing issue.

I can not really say I miss being the target of Kitty Dumping. But, I do know I am not liking this TEENAGER DUMPING, at all. If I had to make a choice, I would most definitely choose the puffs..........again: They Don't Talk Back!