Saturday, January 1, 2011

Another Birthday



Steve's birthday was on December 30. He turned 16. My boys are growing up! I had my root canal retreat in the morning, so Mike was elected to prepare dinner again. Steve requested burritos, homemade salsa, tortilla chips, and sundays for dessert. It was weird not to bake any cakes this week.

Steve and some of his friends were to a nearby city and spent the afternoon at an indoor skateboard park. The kids all had a good time. Amy drove them in and spent the afternoon at a coffee shop reading.

They returned home after 6:30, so dinner was a little late. After scarfing down another delicious meal, Steve opened his presents. He asked for a cheap camera, which we were able to find at the last minute after my dentist appointment. After enjoying sundays with too many toppings, Steve got a phone call on his cell.

After a quick conversation, Steve walked out the door and went next door. A few minutes later, my cell phone rang. Steve was letting me know that he was next door with the police. It seems that one of the boys who spent the afternoon at the skate park with Steve was being asked questions about where he had been. Someone had broke a door and stole outdoor Christmas decorations. My neighbor wanted Steve to confirm that the friend was out of town. She also wanted Steve's shoes checked against the footprints from the theft.

I sent Mike next door to bring Steve home. When Steve returned home, Mike and I asked him some questions about the event. The theft had happened at 10:45 the evening before. My children have to be inside the house by dark (which is around 5:30 here.) The boy who was being questioned had been at my neighbor's house until that time, when he left their house and walked home. Someone had seen him walking and suggested his name. Why did my neighbor feel it necessary to bring my son into this? Why did she phone him to see the police at her home? I understand that she wanted Steve's friend (her daughter's boyfriend) to have his name cleared, but she had not seen anything. She was in her house and the theft was several blocks away.

The neighbor decided that she thinks that she knows who is the culprit. She's been writing nasty messages on this 8th grade boy's facebook page. My son and his friend are angry about how this was handled. My neighbor's mom is making unfounded accusations and continues to harass this boy and is spreading rumors about him. I'm astonished at her behavior. I've made my children unfriend my neighbor on facebook and have requested that they stay away from her.

The neighborhood finally quieted down and we gathered together to play video games to celebrate Steve's big day. He'll probably remember this one.

1 comment:

Barb the Evil Genius said...

How awful! I really hope someone with authority steps in to deal with this. For that matter, do the boy's parents know about the Facebook thing? A young girl really did kill herself over some nasty messages that another mom left, pretending to be a young girl. This should be stopped.