Classic Rant #1,031 (August 29, 2013): Home Alone

My son, who just turned 19 years old as you know based on my Rant last week, is home alone this week since his last year of high school has not started yet, and let me tell you, he has been a whirlwind here.

He goes to bed at about 1 a.m., wakes up about 2 p.m. in the afternoon, and he literally does nothing all day but go onto Facebook and YouTube.

What a life!

He is also eating us out of house and home.

We have asked him to watch what he is eating, but evidently, those pleas have gone in one ear and out the other.

He is eating cereal, gum, ice cream and cake frosting with reckless abandon, and last night, as my wife and I dozed off around 8:30 p.m., he really went to town.

With chocolate all over the kitchen, he finished off chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake frosting as if they were water.

And we have the fingermarks all over the place to prove it.

This time really is the abyss of the summer for these kids. His job at the summer camp ended last week, he is about a week or so away from starting school, and there really isn't much for him to do.

He has few friends, and they might still be away this week, so contacting them is not much of an option. And I get the impression that my son would rather be alone anyway, which isn't really good.

We cannot occupy him, because my wife and I are at work.

I know that his grandmother took him out yesterday for lunch, but if that does not happen again, I am telling you that he will not venture out of the house again until Saturday, when we have a social appointment to keep.

He is eating like there is no tomorrow, but happily, he isn't showing it. Don't go by the picture I have supplied here. That was taken a few years ago. He is much taller and much thinner now than he showed in that photo. He is built just like my mother, as skinny as can be.

We have warned him about later problems, like diabetes, and it pretty much gets a nod and that is it.

At 18 years of age, to a kid in very good health, you can say all you want about future health problems, but is he really going to listen?

We are counting the days before he goes back to school, which isn't a smooth transition, because he "kind of" goes back to school.

Due to a combination of Labor Day and the Jewish holidays, he goes back only sparingly at first, and really doesn't start his full school schedule for two weeks or so.

Every parent with a school kid knows what I am talking about here. That time between a summer job and school really is the pits.

But what am I complaining about, really?

My wife and I know he is a good kid, and he has always been a good kid. He is a good kid now, and way back, like when the above photo was taken, he was a good kid too.

He doesn't really do anything to get our goat, like hanging out with friends to all hours or smoking.

But I guess we want him to be perfect, and he isn't, and no one is.

What can you say? We are parents, and to us, he will always be our little boy.