Thursday, May 28, 2009

Didn't you hear me say I'm not ready?

So. Tuesday.

I'm sitting at my desk. I was either working or telling my co-workers a story about this one time when this guy dumped me because he didn't like the way I "kept house" (and excuse the frick out of me dude but you try living with two sixteen month old babies in one big room and see how well YOU keep house) and then he kept emailing me ALL THE TIME about STUPID CRAP and then he decided he was getting married because he'd gotten this other chick knocked up and sent me an invitation to his apparently trashy/fancy wedding and I wrote something REALLY nasty on the response card and sent it back. I can't remember which I was doing at the exact moment that my cell phone made a little buzzy noise that I recognized as meaning I had a text message.

I don't get a lot of text messages y'all. I'm not cool.

In all honesty? I'd rather type than talk. Any day. But I'm cheap as hell so I don't pay extra to have text messaging on my phone. I have two kids to put through college. Don't judge.

I can GET text messages and I think I can even send them, but it costs me cash money to send them so I don't initiate. I don't generally respond to the ones I get either.

Usually? The ones I get aren't even for me. They're something like:

Pray for Beulah! She's done lost her job!

I don't know who Beulah is. I'll send one up for her because it can't hurt. But I don't know her.

So I opened my phone and here is the text message I received:

Is this the Boy Child HisLastNames moms#? This is his friend GirlfriendChild.


OH. NO. SHE. DID. NOT.


I wavered for a moment. Do I respond? Don't I?

I didn't. I read the message aloud to my co-workers and decided I would just wait and discuss it with the Boy Child.

I picked them up that evening and the following conversation ensued:

Me: Boy Child. I got a very interesting text message earlier today.
BC: Really? From who?
Me: Let me just read it to you.
*reads text message*
BC: *Silence*
Me: Well?
BC: Is that from MY friend GirlfriendChild?
Me: YES.
BC: Huh. What did she say when you called her back?
Me: BOY CHILD. I did not call her back.
BC, completely unconcerned: Huh.
Me: Boy Child. How did GirlfriendChild get my phone number?
BC: I have no idea. Girl Child, did you give it to her?
GC, annoyed: BOY CHILD! NO. GirlfriendChild and I are NOT FRIENDS. I would NOT GIVE my mother's phone number to anyone! Why would I do that? I am not-
Me: Okay Girl Child. Boy Child?
BC: Mom, I have no idea what your phone number is.

Okay then.

After further probing we discovered that GirlfriendChild is a friend of GirlScoutChild, and she probably passed the number along.

I told Boy Child that he would need to call GirlfriendChild and tell her that it was not appropriate to send text messages to his mom's phone, ESPECIALLY during working hours.

Then, I came home, was distracted by something shiny on the internet, and promptly forgot to have him call. Mom=Fail.


Anyway. I've been stewing on this for a while now and I can't decide what to do.

These kids are YOUNG. They JUST finished fifth grade.

Doesn't that seem a bit...forward?

I can't IMAGINE calling someone's mom's phone at that age. I can't imagine Girl Child doing anything like that either.


I don't know. I'm becoming THAT mom and I hate it. I HATE it.


But I still think she needs to back off a bit. Sheesh.

14 comments:

Sabrina said...

Why on earth was she texting you? Did she want to complain about boychild to you? I hate text messages also, they're never filled with "good" news, always something dire.

A Spot of T said...

Ten years ago I would have been just as surprised as you because I never experienced that when my kids were as young as this. A respectful "Hello Mrs. T" as they walked into my home or idle chit chat if they stayed for a meal. I too would have put a stop to any text messaging to me at that age. I am NOT their friend. I am their friend's mother.

Now that my children are 20, 19 and 18 though? Things are so different. A couple text messages asking where son or daughter are but that's about it in the texting department. But facebook. I was shocked and surprised when a couple of my kid's friends 'friended' me on facebook. At first it was nu uh but then the kids are such good kids and if they want to friend me then it's kind of nice. I don't know, maybe it was just hard picturing them as adults after all these years and that is what adults do...friend people on facebook they like. Still freaks me out a bit though. Makes me feel old, but makes me smile that even though they are all graduated and older, they still think of me as the sweet Mrs. T they grew up with. Yes I can be sweet. Don't tell anyone.

Wow. Side-tracked much?? This right here is why I rarely comment on blogs.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

That is just plain weird. With a capital W even.

Kiki said...

Maybe it's because I am from California and we are all freaks out here... but I don't think it's a bad thing. Maybe she can see how super cool you are and she wants to learn the ways of the wise ones before her. :-)

Gerbil said...

She probably wanted to see if it was okay with you if she invited him to dinner/watch tv/play video games.

Angie said...

Yeah. . . there's a little hussy at church that totally has EYES for e-man. She even had the nerve to hang all over him one time--in my presence.

About did me in.

velocibadgergirl said...

Oh, Lordy...

M said...

Oh my strangeness. And you need to get text messaging so I can send you shit like "Lily just said 'oh hell i suck' in front of a nun while strapped into a chair and the nun fell over and died." Except she didn't do this but I could send you shit like that! HELL BROAD!

As for the 4th grader? Weird. And whose phone was SHE text messaging from?!

I can't see my 4th grader text messaging anyone let alone someone's mom. Weird plus weird and a half. Dear hell.

Doug said...

She didn't call you, she texted you. Big difference. Calling you requires that you answer right then and is not appropriate during the work day.

Texting you... you can reply at any time you choose and therefore need not interrupt your busy work day.

From what she wrote it sounds like she wasn't sure she had the right number and wanted to verify.

Maybe her mom wanted the phone number for the little girls boyfriend's parents to ask how you felt about the whole boychild has a girlfriend thing.

Stephanie said...

I'm with you. Way forward. I've worked in a school system before and trust me when I say it's definitely time to intervene. Be THAT mom. You'll thank yourself later.

Wondering Woman said...

I think you're right. Trust your mom feelings on this one. (Can you even imagine having someone like that for a daughter-in-law in the future.... Yikes!, she'd eat you and boy-child alive.... raw.)

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Somebody needs to talk to that girl's mama. I'm pretty sure she'd be mortified if she knew about this.

You're totally in the right, hon.

NEVER AGAIN said...

My son is 13 and started having girlfriends last year. The first day of 6th grade his girlfriend "Cheyenne" called the house. Then she called every evening for about 3 months. I got my son a cell phone last October when I cancelled the land line. His girlfriend "Barbara" called him about 4 times a day and texted him about 40 times a day. When he was busy and she would call or text he would roll his eyes and say something like "OMG she's bugging the CRAP out of me" and TURN OF HIS PHONE! My little boy is a grown up man...

side note: I would have rather died than call a boy in middle school. I'm hard pressed to call a guy NOW and I'm 41!

kim said...

She probly has her own cell phone... is there a way to block a number from your own cell phone??