Posted: 5/30/2011 4:19:11 AM EDT
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My wife's oldest son (my step son) graduated HS Friday. He does not yet have his drivers license.
My wife wants him to go off to school and get a degree and make something of himself. Her ex husband is a grease monkey. Works for a local trucking company. Wants him to work in the shop with him and go to the local JC. I got tired of listening to the phone call before the graduation (arguing about who was going to get to sit where (each student is allowed 7 tickets for family to sit close, and the rest have to sit in the stands at the football stadium) We have only been married for 1 1/2 years, so I volunteered to stay in the stands, to allow someone else to have my seat. Anyway, as a bribe (that is all it is, a bribe to get him to stay at home), the ex husband bought the 18 yr old boy a slightly used (less than 20k miles) 2009 s500 (I think) Mercedes. Did I mention that he has no dl? (Also, the boy lives with his father) Needless to say, the wife unit is not a happy camper. lulz eta no idea how the father paid/is paying for this car |
| Sounds like an epic goatfuck where each party tries to buy the kids love instead of acting like a real parent. My advice is to stay the hell out of the middle of it, and don't let your wife get caught up in trying to outdo the ex-husband in the gift-buying. For your part, maybe sit the kid down, explain the pros and cons of going to school or becoming a mechanic, and let him figure it out. Hopefully he'll be out of the house soon anyways. |
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Mom needs to let the kid decide, and she needs to include the idea of a two year tech school for learning a trade - that might not be mechanicing on dirty, oily, broken down vehicles.
A high school graduate without a driver's license is an interesting idea. Is he dumber than dirt, sponging rides off friends, or laying around the house playing video games? |
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Sounds like an epic goatfuck where each party tries to buy the kids love instead of acting like a real parent. My advice is to stay the hell out of the middle of it, and don't let your wife get caught up in trying to outdo the ex-husband in the gift-buying. For your part, maybe sit the kid down, explain the pros and cons of going to school or becoming a mechanic, and let him figure it out. Hopefully he'll be out of the house soon anyways. "Look, I'm not your Dad, I'm not your parent, but I'd like to talk to you for a minute..." Anything less than that, he won't listen. Ask me how I know. |
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A high school graduate without a driver's license is an interesting idea. Is he dumber than dirt, sponging rides off friends, or laying around the house playing video games? The boy, Logan, lives at his dads. Also, they live in a small town called Louise, TX. Might be 1000 people that live there. Everything is within walking distance. I'm sure he bums rides from friends, when he wants to go somewhere out of town. |
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Mom needs to let the kid decide, and she needs to include the idea of a two year tech school for learning a trade - that might not be mechanicing on dirty, oily, broken down vehicles. A high school graduate without a driver's license is an interesting idea. Is he dumber than dirt, sponging rides off friends, or laying around the house playing video games? Had a few that came my way while active duty.... It's more common with people who come from urban areas.... Fuck, does everyone have to get a degree these days? Nothing wrong with being a mechanic or learning a skilled trade.... It's good to have a hard core skillset that you can eat off of.... |
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Nothing wrong with being a mechanic  If the mother is saying he should go to school and 'make something of himself', I hope she do not mean that being a mechanic is not doing just that. Maybe she just means that he should go to school for it and get a degree of some sort. He should start off with a driver's license since he won't be driving around any customer's cars without it. OP, I would stay out of it. If anything goes wrong, you'll be to blame. 
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Sounds like an epic goatfuck where each party tries to buy the kids love instead of acting like a real parent. My advice is to stay the hell out of the middle of it, and don't let your wife get caught up in trying to outdo the ex-husband in the gift-buying. For your part, maybe sit the kid down, explain the pros and cons of going to school or becoming a mechanic, and let him figure it out. Hopefully he'll be out of the house soon anyways. "Look, I'm not your Dad, I'm not your parent, but I'd like to talk to you for a minute..." Anything less than that, he won't listen. Ask me how I know. Thats about it |
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A high school graduate without a driver's license is an interesting idea. Is he dumber than dirt, sponging rides off friends, or laying around the house playing video games? The boy, Logan, lives at his dads. Also, they live in a small town called Louise, TX. Might be 1000 people that live there. Everything is within walking distance. I'm sure he bums rides from friends, when he wants to go somewhere out of town. Damn if I lived in Louise I would for sure have a Pick up. Beach, hunting , fishing, 4 wheeling , Houston, all things that red neck country boys should be doing require trucks not to mention all the girls that need rides to also go to the beach. He could for sure go to Wharton county Jr. college I did for one year and then on to bigger and better things. They have a good technical school also. |
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A high school graduate without a driver's license is an interesting idea. Is he dumber than dirt, sponging rides off friends, or laying around the house playing video games? The boy, Logan, lives at his dads. Also, they live in a small town called Louise, TX. Might be 1000 people that live there. Everything is within walking distance. I'm sure he bums rides from friends, when he wants to go somewhere out of town. Damn if I lived in Louise I would for sure have a Pick up. Beach, hunting , fishing, 4 wheeling , Houston, all things that red neck country boys should be doing require trucks not to mention all the girls that need rides to also go to the beach. He could for sure go to Wharton county Jr. college I did for one year and then on to bigger and better things. They have a good technical school also. As far as WCJC, I went there myself. What she is worried about is that, living at home and going to school so close, as well as working for/with his dad, then the money will be more important than school, after a while. And then he won't finish. I/we live in El Campo. If you know where Louise is, surely you know El Campo. As for the truck, I agree 110%. Its a good looking car, but I would rather a truck. Hell, for the price he probably paid for the Mercedes, he could have got a Raptor. |
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Let the kid decide what he wants to do. I wish I had, now I just wasted 2 years in college pursuing someone else's dreams that I didn't want to begin with. Sounds like the dad is afraid his kid will do better than him if he gets more education. Can't let a crab climb out of the bucket. |
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Nothing wrong with being a mechanic Absolutely. I think the sad part is either parent is going to force their own view of what their kid should be doing, rather than letting him decide on his own. I was always thankful that my parents supported me in whatever I want to do educationally (they also told me I had to pay for the whole dam thing too). RF |