Monday, October 24, 2005

Puff the Magic Dragon

Well, it stopped snowing. We got about an inch and then it just stopped. On the bright side, we're suppose to have a foot by the end of the week. Looks like Santa won't have any trouble getting to our house this year. I never had to worry about that as a kid. There was always snow and plenty of it. It's not like that anymore. In fact, I had to have the talk with the kids a few years ago. You know the one right? The one where you tell them that it's ok that there's no snow. That Santa is magic and he and the reindeer can land on the roof no matter what. Still, it's not very reassuring to little ones who are use to snow at Christmas. I gotta admit, I wondered how the hell the fat old guy would land his sleigh on the roof with no snow. We left him a nice note with the milk and cookies that year and asked that if the sleigh or the reindeer took up any shingles that they kindly put them back before they left. I warned him there would be no milk, cookies, carrots or sugar the following year if I found pieces of my roof in the yard on Christmas morning. I'm happy to say we made it through the holiday with no problems.

So Puff the Magic Dragon. Or in my case, Puff the Pain in the Arse Teenager. I have to tell you, I never in a million years expected to have this happen in my house. I've kept an open mind. I've convinced myself that most kids at some point in time are going to experiment with cigarettes and alchohol and that I'm just going to have to be prepared for that day. But some where deep in the back of my mind I had decided that my babies would never be so stupid. Yup, you guessed it...Dan had cigarettes hid in his sock drawer. Wanna know how they were found? Dan paid his sister $10 to clean his room because he didn't want to do it. Darcie is very thourough. We sat him down and asked the usual questions. Who, where, why. He admitted right off that he had bought them from a friend (for $3) at school and had fully intended to try them. He says he didn't and I have to believe him. Being a former smoker myself, the smell of cigarette smoke is frightfully strong to me now. I quit 3 1/2 years ago when I foun fout I was pregnant again and never took it back up. In fact, I quit for all three of my pregnancies. Cold turkey the day the home test showed 2 lines. I was always quite proud of myself for that. And then when I started again after Dan and Darcie were older I felt like a loser. Anyways, we sat him down and had another talk about the dangers and stupidity of smoking, drinking and doing drugs. He was shaking and he cried. It takes a lot to make my little man cry. I know he got the point. I was very stern and serious when I talked to him. Later during the day when Bran and I were alone I sat down and started laughing. He paid $3 for a few cigarettes. And they weren't even a good brand. And he paid his sister to clean his room knowing that they were in there. I had to laugh. Silly boy.

I've drawn 2 more names. Sandra Knapp for the 22nd and Adrienne for yesterday. Congrats girls! You've earned an entry into the drawing at the end of the month for the goody box.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

cigarette smoking is one of the hardest habits to kick. i was a pep teacher (say no to drugs program) when my kids were in elementary school. it made me sick to see the kids i knew from then smoking as teenagers. i just hope that i stopped a few of them from using drugs, legal or otherwise.

adrienne in the bellybutton of california

Anonymous said...

We've never had snow for Christmas! I guess it's a good thing; here in the South everything comes to a grinding halt after a few flakes. Yes, the fat man can land without snow!

Donna
knightdomino@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I hope your stern talking to will work with your son. It seems that some lessons must be learned the hard way, but we would all hope those to be the lessons that are not so dangerous should we fail to learn them. I'm an ex-smoker too, and sorry for the day I ever began.

I heard today that they are saying we could get several inches of snow tonight. It's been raining on and off for the past 3 days, and bitterly cold, so it would not be shocking!

Knitcrazy said...

Oh Gee... I'm sure he feels really Bad now....

I too am an ex smoker ... 14 years ago I stopped on Halloween !!!!

Teresa said...

Maybe that is why he had his sister clean his room....so you wold find him and stop him....somthing to think about..

Anonymous said...

My youngest daughter came home from school today wanting to know if it was officially winter yet. We didn't have snow, but it is cold here in southcentral Indiana for this time of the year.

Anonymous said...

I tried smoking ONCE! I must have been allergic because I ended up with hives ALL over my body. Never touched a cigarette again! I guess I should be thankful for the allergy because now I'll never have to quit. My kids don't have a chance of hiding smoking from me. I can smell it from a mile away. (My husband has even called me dog nose -LOL) Lisa D. dykstral@altelco.net

Leslie said...

I stopped smoking the day before Thanksgiving, 1982. Cold Turkey. Second Time. I guess it's stuck because I have -- I was going to say I have no urge to do it again, but I know I'm a nicotein addict. If I have one, after I get done throwing up, I'll finish it. So, it's best I don't ever start again.

Anyhow, here's my entry for today.

Lizardknits said...

Good for you kerry. I quit over 20 yrs ago and I'm still glad I did.

Elizabeth H.

Anonymous said...

Happy Tuesday Kerry,
Snowing here, as predicted. They said on the news we might get up to 3" and I hope they are right. Don't need more than that right now. Supposed to be near 60ºF by Halloween. Crazy weather this year.

Nyxxie said...

Too funny about the cigs! I remember when my dad caught me and well I am still smoking so guess it didn't work but he smokes too! LOL

Blog Archive