The German Exchange Part III
William left for Germany an enthusiastic, kind and relatively well-adjusted boy. He has returned a glowering, miserable teenager, filled with disappointment at his rubbish life, family, house, pets etc. The combined sarcasm and vitriol is toxic and, hurtfully, mostly aimed at me, which I assume is because I'm the only adult target around as Eddie's always at the office.
Asked about his trip after picking him up and looking forward to hearing all about it I got from Will was; "What is this, an interrogation by the mafia?"
Things didn't improve, and weren't helped when we dragged him - grunting and snarling - to the Y9 options evening at school, where he promptly slumped horizontally in his seat and fell asleep.
Putting the attitude down to over-tiredness he had an early night, but sadly today it's safe to say that nothing has changed and he is as mono-syllabic and sarky as he was when he came home yesterday. Let's not forget that life revolves around the X-Box and nothing else exists (he spent most of yesterday evening glued to that while the rest of us got supper ready), so you can imagine the reaction when he came home from school earlier to be reminded that it's mid-week and that homework - or a nap - was the priority.
And on the subject of homework...while both the little darlings have been hanging onto their phones like a drowning man hangs onto a floating log, they forgot to mention James' Y7 science assessment on Friday; "I know it Mummy." He doesn't. Or the fact that William needs to take in 12 cup cakes tomorrow morning; "Can't we just buy them?" No. We can't.
Asked about his trip after picking him up and looking forward to hearing all about it I got from Will was; "What is this, an interrogation by the mafia?"
Things didn't improve, and weren't helped when we dragged him - grunting and snarling - to the Y9 options evening at school, where he promptly slumped horizontally in his seat and fell asleep.
Putting the attitude down to over-tiredness he had an early night, but sadly today it's safe to say that nothing has changed and he is as mono-syllabic and sarky as he was when he came home yesterday. Let's not forget that life revolves around the X-Box and nothing else exists (he spent most of yesterday evening glued to that while the rest of us got supper ready), so you can imagine the reaction when he came home from school earlier to be reminded that it's mid-week and that homework - or a nap - was the priority.
And on the subject of homework...while both the little darlings have been hanging onto their phones like a drowning man hangs onto a floating log, they forgot to mention James' Y7 science assessment on Friday; "I know it Mummy." He doesn't. Or the fact that William needs to take in 12 cup cakes tomorrow morning; "Can't we just buy them?" No. We can't.
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