Yesterday, I did something I’ve never done before.  I allowed my 12 year old and 11 year old to stay home, alone, while I ran to the bank .  I packed everyone else up and took them with me, but SQUEE!  The days when they can mind the baby for me are coming ever closer!  Yee-haw!

We went over the rules, I emphasized which movies they couldn’t watch, told them they could not unlock the door under any circumstances, alerted husband dear to my plan, and made sure they wrote down my cell phone number in two different places.

All went well.  Except for the Neighbor Boys, who, because my boys were required to leave the door locked, sat on the porch.  And my boys cracked the door open with the chain lock still in place so they could talk through the door until I got back.  Sigh.

We’re working on it.

This post is not about that.  It’s about what happened afterwards.

There’s a little pocket park not too far away, and my boys and Neighbor Boys wanted to go play.  I said sure.  They’ve gone before, and they all run together in a pack.  I wasn’t worried.

Then the boys came running home telling me that a kid tried to sell them pot.  Not only that, but it’s a kid they know who is in 6th grade at the local middle school.  A 6th grader!  Selling pot!  TO MY BOYS!  Oh no, uh-uh, not my kids.   I got all mother bear and went over there to have words with the kid, but he was already gone.

I’m proud of my boys and Neighbor Boys for doing the right thing.  They said no, left the area, and told an adult, immediately.

The thing is, I never taught them explicitly to do that.  And I don’t think they got it at a DARE class, because I never penciled one into our curriculum.  But you can bet we’re going to start practicing!

I am pretty clear on how I feel about drug use, though. In fact, all last summer I would not allow my boys to play at Neighbor Boys’ house because their brother smoked joints in the garage (he was 16).  I’m glad I held my ground then, because actions speak louder than words and the actions – stay away from that stuff- are what my boys remembered.  Even though at the time?  It was really annoying.

We do have discussions about the bad effects of drugs, especially smoking pot and getting drunk.  I don’t think alcohol is bad, in and of itself, but too much is.  At our house we have a firm policy of no alcohol, though I might have a social drink when out with husband dear.

We live in a nice neighborhood, with big houses and wide sidewalks and family BBQs in the summer.  A sixth grader.   Selling pot on the playground to elementary school kids.

Have your kids had to say no to drugs?