inkfringement
Jonny, my favorite nephew, left a message asking me to call him back as soon as possible as he had some news that was "to-die-for." I'm honored that he called me because I knew I would be among the first to hear his news. He can count on me to be empathetic because a - I am the cool uncle, b - I've been there and done that, c- I'm not as critical as his parents, and d - I can prep him with good arguments supporting his cause or issue.
However, "to-die-for" conjured up some images that I didn't enjoy. Did he knock up his girlfriend? Did he enlist in the Marines to search for WMD? Did he leave school to pursue his dream of becoming a paintball player pro?
A quick call back and he tells me his news. He got a tattoo. Oh my god, that tidbit certainly deserved a "to-die-for" rating because my conservative, bible-thumping sister is going to kill him when she finds out.
Just a few months ago, my sister called and asked me "talk" to Jonny because she felt he was out of control and was headed down a bad path. I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a man so I was eager to help set him straight. I asked my sister to tell me what some of the issues were so I could plan my attack before I approached him.
Well, it seems that in a two week period, Jonny got two parking tickets, had his car towed when it broke down in a distant mall, bought a $400 cell phone, and was having issues paying his loans (from his parents) in time. My nephew may have been out of control but I was more concerned with my sister's detachment from reality.
"Honey, he's eighteen. Did you forget what it was like to be eighteen? These are not problems, these are an eighteen-year-old's issues. Give the kid a break and give yourself a break. Let him make mistakes and learn from them."
She took this well and agreed that maybe she was being a bit harsh with him. I told her I would save the "talk" for when something a bit more serious came up. And here we are.
"So what did you get inked?" I asked. He got this ...
... on his abdomen. I think it's clever, funny, and original. It definitely fits his quirky sense of humor. This is the boy whose outgoing message is "You've reached the number you dialed."
He had no idea when he was going to tell his parents or even how to defend his actions . The only advice I had for him was to come up with some "at least I didn't get this tattoo" options. What would my sister absolutely hate to see on him? There's this, and this, and, scarieriest of all, there's this.
I spoke with my sister today and asked how Jonny was. "Oh, who knows, I haven't seen him all week." I bet.
However, "to-die-for" conjured up some images that I didn't enjoy. Did he knock up his girlfriend? Did he enlist in the Marines to search for WMD? Did he leave school to pursue his dream of becoming a paintball player pro?
A quick call back and he tells me his news. He got a tattoo. Oh my god, that tidbit certainly deserved a "to-die-for" rating because my conservative, bible-thumping sister is going to kill him when she finds out.
Just a few months ago, my sister called and asked me "talk" to Jonny because she felt he was out of control and was headed down a bad path. I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a man so I was eager to help set him straight. I asked my sister to tell me what some of the issues were so I could plan my attack before I approached him.
Well, it seems that in a two week period, Jonny got two parking tickets, had his car towed when it broke down in a distant mall, bought a $400 cell phone, and was having issues paying his loans (from his parents) in time. My nephew may have been out of control but I was more concerned with my sister's detachment from reality.
"Honey, he's eighteen. Did you forget what it was like to be eighteen? These are not problems, these are an eighteen-year-old's issues. Give the kid a break and give yourself a break. Let him make mistakes and learn from them."
She took this well and agreed that maybe she was being a bit harsh with him. I told her I would save the "talk" for when something a bit more serious came up. And here we are.
"So what did you get inked?" I asked. He got this ...
... on his abdomen. I think it's clever, funny, and original. It definitely fits his quirky sense of humor. This is the boy whose outgoing message is "You've reached the number you dialed."
He had no idea when he was going to tell his parents or even how to defend his actions . The only advice I had for him was to come up with some "at least I didn't get this tattoo" options. What would my sister absolutely hate to see on him? There's this, and this, and, scarieriest of all, there's this.
I spoke with my sister today and asked how Jonny was. "Oh, who knows, I haven't seen him all week." I bet.
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