Just when you think things can get no more hectic and that teens can be no more shockingly negligent - WHAM - they run you over. Or they run over your laptop.
It started with a lovely dinner - just me and the Captain, a bottle of wine, some awesome fillets cooked on the grill on Saturday night.
Over comes Son from Next Door, takes away our empty plates and our steak knives and says, "I need to talk to you."
He sits down far away - purposefully.
"Thursday was a really bad day mom. Really Bad." Ut oh. I was away Thursday. In San Diego on a conference. Far Far Away.
"You see, it all started with the Scholar's Project. I put my musical composition on your laptop and had to take it to school. But the Powerpoint locked me out and I couldn't use it anyway so I had to do my Scholar's project on a white board and wing it [Wait - your big project that is a whole year's grade? Are you going to graduate? Wait you skipped on by - this is apparently not the bad part?]
"So after school I was hanging out with some friends and I had the laptop in my book bag and we decided to skateboard and then I went home. Without the book bag. Ihaveneverdonethatinmylife. So I zipped back to school and broke in and got caught by the janitor. " [wait are you suspended are you going to graduate oh this is not the bad part?] "The janitor helped me look, but we couldn't find it."
"So I'm thinking I'm screwed and then a friend shows up Friday with my bookbag - and the laptop and the wallet and everything. Oh except someone ran over the bookbag - because I had put it down in the parking lot while we were skateboarding -and now it's in pieces....."
So this is the bad part - my laptop, with all my photos on it - prom, first and last days of school, Spain trip, Jamaica trip, Christmas - all gone?? And you took it to school without permission and simply forgot the screaming fits I had when I found it precariously perched in various parts of the house over the last few months because of how important it is to me and how if you're going to borrow it you have to ASK (even in the house) and must guard it with your life??!! YOU FORGOT ALL THIS?
Yep, that's the bad part.
The Good part? I didn't yell. I took deep breaths. I cried. I talked about lessons and learning that something may be material but may have priceless value attached to it that cannot be bought again. That he's going off to school where it might be a girl that he must treasure, or a friend, or a life.
Took the laptop to my genius neighbor who says hard drive is bent - needs a forensic specialist. For 3 million 48 thousand dollars.
Good news? My backup hard drive is only....16 months out of date, so any photos before January 2009 aren't on there.
Oh but there's more good news - my Norton online backup is there and only ran out of room that I failed to upgrade in ... June 2009. And first day of school and Spain? I uploaded them onto Picasa. And Easter 2010 and Jamaica? Some are on Facebook, some are still on the camera!
So waiting to spend the 3 million on the forensic. Going to go back to neighbor to have him build me a computer.
And? I have a slave for the summer - Son is now an indentured servant. Forever.
And then my head exploded (as a favorite blogger of mine often says....)
11 comments:
When you peel yourself off the ceiling (and justifiably so), consider the mitigating circumstances. You've raised a responsible adult there (well, mostly responsible). I'm impressed with his candor.
Hope you can get your photos back from their various locations! And that your blood pressure isn't permanently elevated.
My word verification is "insure." I swear.
OH. MY. HELL!
That is all...what else is there to say?
Bless his little heart. You must be nearing sainthood since he is still alive and walking. Hope you get most or all of your memories back!
I'm so impressed that you didn't yell. Did you down the rest of the wine -- straight from the bottle? I so would have. Argh.
I just noticed that you said your son took away your steak knives before he told you. You gotta give him credit for occasional forward-thinking.
Wow. Kudos to you for not choking him. It totally sounds like something one of my kids would do.
I was also going to comment about him taking away the steak knives...smart boy, there.
You are a stronger person than I,my dear, I would have gone ballistic!!
Glad that most of all you lost is retrievable and just think of all that you (HE!!) can get done this summer! You may be able to milk this one for YEARS to come!!
Two things: Agree on the smart to remove knives part.
Second, he came TO YOU and said "I screwed up". THAT shows maturity.
my word verf: gutiout - what I'd do if my son did what your son did, minus the owning up to it.
I would forgive him--about the time he gave you his first grandchild!
You came to San Diego and didn't call me?!
My heart is beating so fast reading this....OMG....I can't imagine what you were thinking.
Oh, nevermind, I can imagine what you were thinking.
I give you a gold medal in keeping your cool.
I stumbled onto your site, and your newer post had a link to this one. This is awful - all those pictures! Just a suggestion...shutterfly.com. It's so easy (and free) and a great way to safeguard your photos. You can always order prints (for pennies) if you want. Maybe even just using it as a back-up if you like keeping them on your computer.
Laura
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