I suppose it’s inevitable, if you get 6 teenage male-types in a room together, ply them with root beer and hot dogs (6 of them, ate 28 of them, and 3 jumbo bags of chips and nearly a whole 9×13 cake, and nearly all of 3-12 packs of sodas) that some form of mayhem will occur.

I will not name names, except to say that for some reason, one of the miscreants belongs to me. In every example of Bad Behavior, a particular child, who shall remain nameless, was involved. There was evidence of 2 outbreaks. Extensive soda-spray all over the felt of our pool table (HEINOUS! OUTRAGE! BOY IS HE IN TROUBLE!) and a broken pane in a window. Easy fix, cheap glass, no one was hurt, but still irritating. I’m hoping the felt can be cleaned. If not, A Certain Young Man Who Shall Remain Nameless will have to fork over the $$ to replace it.

Another young man, who also shall remain nameless but also belongs to me, felt bad enough about the mess and events that he voluntarily cleaned up the game room.

I’m not particularly shocked or dismayed. I suppose events from my past have made it possible to put things into perspective. There is alot they weren’t doing. They weren’t smoking anything illegal, or groping tarty young women. They cleaned up their language whenever one of us adult-types came in the room. They thanked me for the food.

There is a reason why we didn’t buy a $7000 pool table. (I mean, other than the cost, even). There’s a reason why we put vinyl on the floor, and purchased Thrift store recliners. There is nothing in that game room that will cause heartburn or anxiety if mayhem occurs. It’s designed for teenagers, and I, for one, am thrilled to see them use it. Even if they do, occasionally, erupt into madness. It comes with the territory.