Let Me Tell You a Story About a Man Named Jed

This really isn't about Jed but I've had this song in my head since four this morning. I have no idea why. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw that show. Anywho...Why was I up at four am? That is what this story is all about.

I'm sound asleep (for once) and I hear knocking on my bedroom door. After three attempts to hear what the person is saying through the door (I don't function at 4 am), I finally drag my butt out of bed to see what's what. It's the Oldest child and she's telling me that there's a cop at the door. Fantastic. I say jokingly, "You and A weren't running around the neighborhood were you?" She answers back, "Well, A was at the park looking for her ID." It's four in the morning. I have no reply to this so I go down the stairs to talk to the cop who turns out to be housing security.

He informs me that he found A walking around at the park and that city curfew is 2200 for minors. Duh. Then he asks if I was aware that she was out of the house. Again. Duh. Don't I look like I've been roused from a sound sleep?? Then he tells me that he's supposed to call the San Diego police because she's broken curfew, but since she's a guest and doesn't live here, he was going to give her a break. Fine and dandy although, I think he should have called the police but at the same time, I'm glad I don't have to deal with the police too. He tells me that he's going to call her dad though which is again, fine with me. I go into the house, look at A and tell her not to step another foot outside the door, tell both her and the Oldest to go to freaking sleep, and go back to bed myself.

I finally get back to sleep around seven.

A's dad shows up at our house first thing this morning looking very unhappy. I tell him what I know of what happened, which is very little because I hadn't had a chance to ask questions. We apologize to each other and he leaves with A, who has said absolutely nothing and won't look me in the eye. No big surprise. First of all, her excuse for being out of the house was weak and LAME. Kids are so dumb. She doesn't live here. After her dad dropped her off, she didn't leave the house at least until midnight when the Mister and I went to bed. If she was, indeed, looking for her ID at the park, she lost it there sometime after midnight which still means she sneaked out of our house after curfew. I hope she came up with a better lie for her own parents because that's just the worst.

The Oldest child claims she doesn't know why A left the house. If that girl wasn't meeting a boy at that time of the night (she used to live here and still has friends in the area, obviously), then I'm a monkey's uncle. I cringe to think of all the heinous things that could happen to a beautiful, stupid, ignorant 15 year old girl walking the streets in the middle of the night. Military housing or not.

Even though the Oldest child didn't go out with her, she's still guilty of letting her go, not telling us, and for making bad decisions. She's grounded and I'm making her do chores that I don't want to do myself.

I've been through the terrible twos, potty training, babies crying in the middle of the night for no good reason, smeared diapers in the hair, and projectile vomit on the ceilings and walls. TWICE. I would do it all over again fifteen times if I didn't have to do the 14-18 year old stage. Teenagers suck wide. If it's not one thing it's another and it's ALWAYS something. A's dad is an injured war vet who survived cancer. Doesn't she think he's suffered enough?