It's official. I'm getting older and turning into my parents. Last night as I was getting ready for bed I noticed the motion activated lights out by the alley had come on. I glanced out and noticed an unfamiliar vehicle parked in our drive back there. Hmm. Strange. I glanced around a little more (it's not unusual for our neighbor teens to have parties, so I thought maybe "overflow" parking). All the neighboring houses were dark too. Hmmm strange. I just watched for a few minutes, and noticed a couple people back by our shed. It sounded as if they were on cell phones, looking for directions or something. Sounded like teen boys, so at this point I felt they were harmless. So I told John (who had just gone to bed) what I was up to, and ventured out. As I approached the alley, I realized the boys were gone. I looked down a few houses and saw them wandering around so I hollered out. "Hey is this your car?" (pause) "Umm. Yeah." "Well I think you parked it in the wrong spot...you might want to move it." (another pause, and they're still not coming towards me) "Umm, sorry 'bout that, we're looking for *Jones' house...is this it?" "Nope, they live over there." "Oh, okay, we're just looking for *Jim, sorry."
Those turds never did move their car!
And then I started to worry that maybe they were going to pull some shananigans at the Jones' house. I mean, everybody knows everybody in this town, and how good of friends could they be if they park in the back and don't know which house it is?! I started to worry a bit, and hesitated about calling the police (just to do a drive by and keep an eye out.) It made me feel so old, and unhip to be worrying all because a couple teens parked in the wrong yard, and wouldn't move their car. It angered me to think back that when I was a teen if someone older had approached me at midnight in the alley for something so simple..I'd not only have moved it, but I'd probably have driven straight home, praying my dad didn't find out about it. Silly, I know. But I feared my parents (esp. Dad) and while I did my share of stupid stuff, I knew full well, that if and when I got caught, I was going to pay the price...at home. Is it "old" of me to say that I sometimes think kids nowadays are lacking respect and a little fear of consequences.
Anyhow, after stewing around about it for awhile, and finally just going to bed, I heard the boys hop in their car (with *Jim Jones) and head on out for the night. All that hype for nothin. Figures. Perhaps this was just one of many readiness-exercises God's sending my way to begin preparation for when I have 9 teens of my own at one time. God help me...I'll be too old for sure!
