What would YOU do?

So much to talk about, so little time. But I'll give it a shot...

First, we found out about a week ago that Trevor has been smoking pot. This has been confirmed through his doctor via a drug test. Of course, he denies everything. Check that, he did deny everything, then he said it was residual from sitting by someone smoking it in the park, then he admitted to smoking, but only after he was tested.

So when Andrew spoke with Trevor's mom about it, she was her typical self. First she slammed Trevor for his actions, then she said she didn't want to be too hard on him. So she "forbid" him from ever going to that park again, yet she still lets him hang out until 11 or 12 at night doing who-knows-what.

Oh, it was soooo funny. Ex-wife says to Andrew (I was sitting in the room next to him when she called and she has a loud voice): "I told him if he isn't good I will make Linda (that's me) babysit him everyday this summer because I know she will keep him in line." Um, WHAT?! First of all, not my problem. Okay, I know God put me in Trevor's life, but I am not responsible for the problems that bad parenting have caused. Second, this woman hates me, though she doesn't know me at all. Finally, okay, so I am a teacher, but that doesn't mean I sit on my rump all day long during the summer months just waiting for something to do. Actually, I have two jobs and I am going to school, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't watch the kid who is my bully.

It was just the day after we learned all this that Trevor randomly walks down our stairs as Andrew and I are eating dinner! Keep in mind that we haven't seen Trevor in nearly six months and he hasn't even returned his own father's phone calls for over a week, yet here he trounces in, unannounced, with three friends in tow! He had written his bike just to say hi, I guess.

It was a total God-thing, gotta tell ya. Normally I have to really prepare myself for his arrival - both emotionally and spiritually, but this time I was able to smile sincerely, offer his friends food, and welcome him back. Not to mention the house was actually clean because God had given me a spurt of energy after I got home from working 8 hours that day... enough energy to do the living room, kitchen, and amazing make enough to feed not just Andrew and I but also Trevor and all of his friends!

So, even though our dealing with Trevor have been bruised at best, I was able to handle his hour-long visit, just enough for him to grab some food, play some hoops with his friends, and exchange a total of maybe four sentences with his dad.

Are all teenagers like this? And tell me, what would YOU have done in this situation? How long should I continue to play nice? If he lived with us, he'd be grounded, not running literally all over town without any supervision. Yet, in this moment, I didn't feel animosity nor resentment, but rather indifference and maybe even a twinge of compassion!