Summer vacations ... ahhhh the sound of silence!

My house has been silent for the past two days. No drama, well, not as much. Ryan and Jenn are both off at recreation camp this week with the FFA Chapter from their school. I said not much drama because last night around 11:00 p.m. Ryan called home to suggest that I come pick Jenn up. When I asked why, he said that Jenn (right) had claimed to be sick early in the day, and ended up hanging out with her friend Trish (left) all day. That Jenn had not participated in anything all day. He was worried about my $100 investment in the cost for the camp. I asked that he have Jenn give me a call in the morning so I could check on her health.

Not to sound sarcastic, but this sounds more like a big brother who would have preferred his younger sister had not come along on the trip. However they are both in the FFA and 1/2 of the trip was paid for by her fund raising efforts. So, he'll just have to get over it. I called him back this morning and reminded him that he needed to act maturely about this and enjoy his time at camp. As you see from their goofy picture below, Ryan and Jenn have their good moments!

As for Jenn, she called this morning and said she had "tossed her cookies" and did hang out with Trish for the day. I suggested she hang out some with the students from her school too, not necessarily her brother. This is to be a fun week with her classmates and others from around the state who share the same interests in agriculture, or at least in the FFA adventures. When I asked her why she got sick she said she was upset because her brother's girlfriend had said something to upset her. I suggested she talk to her and get it straightened out as promptly as possible. She is supposed to call me later to let me know how she is doing.

It was apparent she had an attitude, after all, who likes their older brother acting like a parent when you are on vacation?

I left a message on the teacher's cell phone to have her check on Jenn as I was concerned about her health and her participation with the group. I also mentioned why she said she had been sick. I thought I was going to get a break from the drama. So let's see if the night passes quietly.

High School Drama

Think back. It's 1955, or 1972 and you're around fifteen years of age, a freshman in high school. In the fifties, there were sock hops, drag racing, and teenagers in love, lust, and trouble from time to time. In the seventies, there dances at the teen club, less drag racing, and again teenagers in love, lust, and in trouble from time to time.

Step forward to today. There are dances, including 8th grade proms, fully decked out dress, even fewer drag races, and still teenagers in love, lust, and in trouble from time to time. So what is the difference? Drama!


Yes, I said drama. I don't remember there ever being this much drama, but then again, I was pretty independent, had friends from every walk of life, and was not one to judge someone for their abundance or lack of intelligence or anything else for that matter. However, with two teens in the house, I have become painfully aware of drama that seems totally unnecessary. From girls who will not let go when a boy says its over, to boys who cannot get the message that she is not interested, even when those messages are delivered in person.

The drama doesn't end there; there is also the seemingly endless bickering between girls over who is who's best friend. I had lots of best friends. It was not uncommon being raised military. We tended to bond and stay bonded as long as we were stationed at the same base. I was fortunate enough to have had eight years in one city and so I attended two elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high school in the area. Most of those years were on base and most of my best friends were those I spent the eighth grade through my sophomore years with at base schools.


I don't remember telling my parents about troubles with other teens, unless there was some type of imminent danger lurking around a corner. For now, I continue to listen, offer my advice if asked, and step in when and if necessary. It's all a parent can do, take one day at a time, and judge each situation on its own merits.

How dramatic were your high school years?

Update: When teens have fall outs ...

When Jenn checked her new messages this morning she found one from her friend (we'll call her Amelia) regarding the fall out from last year. They had been sending messages back and forth this last week because Amelia left a nasty message about Jenn's newest best friend. Her message had some colorful instructional language, and an equally colorful descriptive name for Jenn's newest best friend. To say the least, Jenn was angered with Amelia and let her know that she was not happy with the message. She let Amelia know that she felt that she had been ignored the last few weeks of school and that based on how Amelia was acting now perhaps they should just remain on cordial speaking terms as they will be on the same color guard team. The response was dramatic, something about how hurt she was and that she had never ignored Jenn. Jenn decided not to respond back just yet. Then a few minutes later Jenn's sister that lives in NJ sent her a message saying that Amelia wanted her to be her friend on an online site. Jenn asked Pamela not to accept the invitation as there was really no need for Pamela to be talking to Jenn's friends (whether Jenn and the friend are getting along or not); but as Pamela does, she does and she added Amelia to her group of friends (not a positive thing to do). I hope Jenn well keep her head about all of this and not let the drama include her.