Week of Frustrations, Part IIIa

Still Friday.

E called me at work to tell me about a job he'd been offered in TX. Big D's mother's ex-husband, Billy Bob had told E there was "big job" they were working on and some construction work was available. [Ed: his name isn't really Billy Bob, but it will do for the purposes of this entry.]

E concluded with, "So we have some things to talk about when you get home." Amazingly, I kept my cool and just responded with, "Ok."

I left the office shortly after that. That was one of the few days that I was thankful for the 45 minute drive. I screamed, mostly obscenities, for about the first third of the drive.

So by the time I got home I could speak to E in a logical fashion. So I called him upstairs so we could talk.

I began, "Do you know how long this 'big job' is supposed to last?"

E	[plops on the bean bag] I don't know.
Me	Ok. Let's say, for the purpose of this discussion, it's 3 months.
E	Ok.
Me	So here's my thoughts on the matter, in no particular order. As I recall, one of the reasons you decided to wait until January to start school was so you could get more accustomed to your environment before starting school. If you go away for 3 months, then you won't be settled when school starts.
E	I might not be gone that long.
Me	True. But it also might be longer, right?
E	I DON'T KNOW!
Me	Enough with the yelling. You said you wanted to talk about this, and this is how adults discuss things.
E	[flops on his back and throws his arm over his eyes]
Me	Also, there's going to be forms for school that you'll need to fill out. I can't help you with those things if you're 8 hours away.
E	So I can't go?
Me	E, you are 19. If you want to go, I can't stop you. Its not up to me to say you can or cannot go. All I can do is help you think through the process.
E	So I can go?
Me	[shaking my head, completely ignoring his last question] How will you get there?
E	I was going to stay when we drive down to get S.
Me	Ok. How will you get back? Because, I gotta tell you bud, I'm tapped out.
E	I don't know. [flops on the bean bag again, for emphasis I presume.]
Me	Well, that's something else you'll need to figure out.
E	[sigh]
Me	Will you be staying with your mom while you're there? I happen to know that your brother has bunk beds now, so there would be a place for you to sleep. But you were very unhappy with that situation before.
E	I might be staying somewhere else.
Me	Ok. So that's something else you'll need to find out. Will you be driving while you're down there? Your car insurance is only valid in KS. [Ed: cheap, liability-only] And I shouldn't have to pay for that while you're down there.
E	I don't know. But at least it will be a job! I've applied to every automotive place I can find around here.
Me	And this 'big job' is an automotive job?
E	No. Construction.
Me	And how many construction jobs have you applied for around here?
E	Well, none, but...
Me	My point is: you've been very selective about what you're applying for around here. You're not looking for a career at this point, just a job to get you through school.
E	[pouting]
Me	Well, it sounds like you have LOTS of questions that need to be answered before we can go any further in this discussion.

At the forefront of my brain during that whole discussion is all the back-sliding that would happen if he went back to TX at this juncture. Somehow, in spite of my frustrating week, I managed to keep from saying, "Not just no, but Hell NO!" I'm actually pretty impressed with myself.

Hopefully, I stunted him with my verbal assault, and that put this issue to bed.