Natural Consequences

Well, this time I may not have to make up any consequences. The natural ones might just be enough.

Apparently Salinda was able to convince her friend's mom to give her a ride without my permission to this boys house in another town. They are supposed to be picking her up and bringing her home, but they won't answer their cell phones. She just called me and hinted around that I should be driving all the way over there to pick her up tonight and bring her home so she doesn't miss school.

No

Stinkin

Way.

I told her: You have a friend whose mom took you there without my permission and you have a boyfriend who has a license and a car. And you are there without my permission. I guess you are out of luck because there is no way that anybody from our family is going to come rescue you. I guess you either have to find a ride home or miss school tomorrow.

She's not excited about that option. But there is no way I'm leaving at 8:15 at night to drive 90 minutes to pick her up and turn around and drive 90 back. Someone else out there who helped her get there or someone who let her stay there without my permission can figure out how to get you home.

And this is the part I didn't say:

Laughing to myself: Yeah, right, kiddo. You treat me like crap for a solid week and then you run off without my permission and then you want to be rescued from the natural consequences of your ridiculous choice and you call me to bail you out?

Not on your life.

You're big and mature enough go get yourself there, you can figure out how to get back home. But it isn't going to be me.

(OK, go ahead and slam me and call me an unforgiving unkind mother ... but seriously, if I rescue her, she certainly won't learn. She might not learn anyway, but at least I don't have to come up with some other consequences if she gets stuck there.)