Are you ready for some football?

September 18, 2010

Last night was the first home game for the local high school.  Beth and I went together.  Because she loves to go to football games?  No.  Because CJ had gone up there to meet his buddies and hang out?  Yes.  Because CJ's "girl of interest" was also going to be there?  Heck yeah.

So Beth and I went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner without CJ because we are mean like that, loaded with money, and party every Friday night.  No, no, and no again.  CJ was meeting his buddies at Penn Station for food, Beth and I split a burger and bought no cheesecake, we had a gift card, and going out to eat sounded way better than cooking.  Not even any alcohol for either of us.  We are animals that party all right.

So we then walked over to the high school and watched the game.  At half time, we left as we both had very tiring weeks and we could hear the couches calling us all the way from home.  On the way out, we saw CJ and his group of friends...and Taylor.  I tried not to stare, or investigate, or walk over and see what was going on.  It was like a bug being attracted to a blue light and knowing it was a bad idea.  CJ saw us as we neared and gave us one of those waves.  You know, the kind that is impulsive because he likes us and wants to acknowledge our presence, but also wants to warn us off before we hit the blue light.  It worked.  We turned left and headed home.  It looked like they were having fun and staying out of trouble, so we felt good about the situation.  CJ made it home safe and sound an hour later. 

I think it helped that I was able to have a teaching moment with CJ on Wednesday night due to the misdoings of the trainee I had this week.  He turned in a time card for time he did not actually work, forgetting that Target has cameras and he was not going to get away with it.  I was able to use this as an example for CJ that getting caught in a lie only serves to take a bad situation and make it horribly irreparable.  Planting those seeds in his little sponge brain is good.  He knows that if he spray paints the walls of the high school and runs through the halls singing "I want to be an Airborne Ranger, I want to live a life of danger", that chances are, word will get back to us.  And he may have to become and air born ranger...when my foot meets his back side.

So today, CJ has a cross country meet in an hour.  I have told him that he will get a quarter for every runner he finishes in front of.  I have always been a fan of bribery...er...incentives to reach a goal.  I think that when you are running two miles, it is way too easy to finish in 34th place when finishing in 29th place would take a lot of extra effort and still get you no accolades.  In this case, it would increase his earnings by $1.25.  He has gone up to the school to take the bus already, so I can go get some money out of his wallet to pay him his incentive.

 Is that wrong?  Are there cameras up there?  Okay, I will do it right.  Big brother is watching.