Crime & Punishment

Circumstances and my desire found the kids and I at home yesterday. (I got out of the team building activity for work out of pure dumb "luck". I use "luck" lightly, as Jelly Bean was sick and that was the primary reason.) In the afternoon, Brother's friends had finally got home from school and he was out playing with the little Church Girl from next door. Church Girl's daddy is a pastor in a church in the next town. They live about two houses down from us and she is the only girl in the neighborhood really. And can be seen romping with the boys nearly everyday.

At about 5:00, Church Girl comes rapping at my door. I think, "Uh oh. What did Brother do?" So, I open the door and she looks at me and says, "Brother did something really bad on the neighbor's fence."

I think...did he pee on it? No. He wouldn't have done that in front of Church Girl. So I asked, "What did he do?"
"Wrote curse words on it."
"BROTHER! WHERE ARE YOU!!!???!!!???"

So, indeed, my eldest carved the grand-daddy of all swear words and another word for derriere into the back of the neighbor's fence. When I asked him, why o why o WHY DID YOU DO THIS? He looked at me with forlorn eyes and said, and I quote, "I claimed that land (behind the fence) as my own for my club. And I wrote those words because I am interested in such things."

Lordy. He sounds like a cross between a new world explorer and a child psychologist.

Anyway, I sentenced him for the crimes of "defacing property" and "vandalism." He was not happy with me. I also told him that he had to buy sandpaper with his own money and go sand the words off. Not so bad, since they were only about an inch tall. He has been getting pretty defiant lately, telling me "no" and arguing a lot.

Tell me it is just that age and that he will grow out of it...okay?