Tank cornered me in my study in January.
Tank: Jay's family invited me to go skiing with them in Colorado. Late February. Please, can I go? I work really hard. I've saved a ton of money. Come on. Max is going too. He went last year not knowing how to ski and he was fine.
Me: (groaning) I don't think so. You only skied that one time in Michigan. Colorado is for big-time ski types. People get really hurt skiing.
Tank then played 'THE' card: Ya know, I haven't really had a senior year.
Really? Low blow.
Me: You have to ask Daddy.
Tank: Why? Can't you just decide and then talk to him? You know he's gonna say no.
Coach finished teaching his class and popped into the study. Coach said exactly what I said in Coach lingo: YOU'LL GET HURT. NO WAY.
Tank was super disappointed.
I didn't sleep well that night (not because of this). I was up at 3 am sitting in the kitchen on my laptop waiting to go back to sleep. At 4:30 Coach was leaving for work. I'd looked at flights:
If we're going to decide to let him go, we better decide soon. Tank could be booked on the same flight as Jay's family for the return. I could get him on an earlier flight on the way there. He'd wait for them to arrive. Flights aren't too pricey.
Coach shrugged as he walked out the door and gave me his surrender voice, grouchy tone implied: FINE. GO AHEAD.
I knew he still didn't want Tank to go and honestly neither did I, but the kid is 18. He HAS saved a ton of money (like $12,000 this school year - since August, not including what he made over the summer) and next year he'll be in college making decisions without running it past us. So . . . I booked the flights.
I slept a bit more and when Tank came downstairs in the morning acting all grumpy, I acted MORE grumpy. I was TIRED. I waved him over and pointed to the email confirmation from Southwest.
At first he didn't get it. WHAT'S THIS?
Me, doing my best 'I see your grumpy and I raise you a grumpy level': WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Tank was overjoyed. He said that when he told his friends they didn't believe him. *His friends are nice kids, but they don't tend to have the same kind of parental supervision that Tank endures is blessed with.
Weeks go by. Flights are combined so he's on their same flights. I help him pack. Print his confirmation. Drill into him about the easy hills. Made him promise to check in.
After he landed, he texted. I texted back: Be nice to Hailey (Jay's sister who's 8).
Later in the day, Rachel, Jay's mom sent a group text to Max's mom and me:
LOOKS LIKE THE BOYS MADE IT. THIS IS THE VIEW FROM THEIR ROOM THAT JAY TEXTED ME.
I was so confused. Huh? I thought Rachel, the mom, was going. Tank said he was going with Jay's family. Plus Max. This text made it seem like she wasn't there. I had texted 'be nice to Hailey' and he hadn't corrected me to say:
HAILEY ISN'T HERE, SILLY.
What was going on?
Mini was in the room. I wasn't thinking. I shared the situation. She practically fell out of her chair laughing. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I kept telling her to stop laughing, but watching her laugh made me laugh and that was NOT sending the right message to my next-in-line-to-be-a-senior who might take this as a signal that it is OK to push the envelope.
Me: OH MY GOSH. DID I JUST SEND MY KID TO COLORADO WITH NO PARENTS? I'VE BEEN DUPED.
Mini: (hiccupping from laughing so hard) THIS IS AWESOME. HILARIOUS! TANK PULLED A FAST ONE ON YOU.
Me: (more to myself than to Mini) Dear God. Daddy. I convinced him to let Tank go.
I texted Tank: Call me right away. He texted: OK, AFTER DINNER.
Me: NO RIGHT NOW!
He called. Oh, hadn't he told me. He thought I knew. Jay's grandpa was with the boys. All was fine. He claimed that he didn't initially know who was going. What's the difference?
I don't know grandpa. Are you guys all partying while grandpa is napping? Is this the 'I'll-buy-the-beer' type of grandpa?
Tank tried some Jedi-mind-trick bull. It went something like: IF I WAS REALLY TRYING TO TRICK YOU THEN WOULDN'T I HAVE JUST SAID ( BLAH BLAH, NONSENSICAL SHIT), HIS GRANDPA IS NOT GOING TO LET US DO ANYTHING - RACHEL WOULD KILL HIM.
I told Tank this was NOT what I'd agreed to and that I'd sold it to Daddy, so he better BEHAVE and check in constantly.
He did check in via text frequently. He later said that the grandpa stayed on the easy slopes with him the whole time. His buddy.
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My kid - far left. Grandpa, center, or a grandpa they paid to pose in their photo. Now I'm giving them way too much credit. |
I didn't tell Coach the truth, initially. Once Tank was home and Mini tried to use the info against me: LET ME HANG WITH MY FRIENDS. I CAN CLEAN MY ROOM LATER. TANK WENT TO COLORADO WITHOUT PARENTS AND DIDN'T GET IN TROUBLE! . . .
I spilled the beans to Coach. He wasn't happy, but knowing Tank got home safe helped. We were also at his sister's house having an adult beverage.
How bad does Tank owe me? In my estimation: more than he knows.
Did you ever pull a fast one on your folks or have your kids convinced you that parents would be there, when they weren't?