And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~ Kahlil Gibran



Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Ummm...Yeah, NO!!!

Well, I got word from a very reliable source that Pip's folks smoke pot in front of the kids.

Big Sprout will no longer be allowed over there. Of course Pip can come here, but there is NO WAY I am letting Big Sprout hang out over there anymore.

My poor Sprout is so naive, she probably has no idea what is going on. I don't know if they have done it while she was there, and I sure hope not, but really. I figure if you wanna get high that is your own business, but doing it in front of your kids? That is just wrong!

No wonder kids these days are all messed up in the head.

4 comments:

RuthieJ said...

....so they've got enough money to buy the pot but not enough for decorations for a Christmas tree for their little girl? Ya know, sometimes I just don't understand what's wrong with people!

Mysti said...

I know their situation is nothing like mine but I grew up for my first 11 years on a commune. My parents and everyone else smoked it. Right in front of us too. I must say, it didn't scar me.. but I was raised so differently. In your case, Big Sprout is *not* used to that being the norm and should NOT be around it in any way. I feel for Pip because she is being put in a situation which could ultimately mean being taken away and put in foster care.

Being the kid of hippies, there are things that don't seem terrible to me, but I would still never put my kids in a situation like that, and you are doing the right thing by putting a stop to Big Sprout going over there.

Times were different when I was a kid. Her parents reasons are surely not of a political "screw big brother" kind of way. LOL

Gods, I make my self sound more weird everyday don't I!

barefoot gardener said...

Ruthie-
You and I had the exact same thought. Priorities, people!

Mysti-
What an interesting story! I don't think you sound weird, I think you have an amazingly unique background that has helped shape you into the fab gal you are.

I think for me the issue is not that they smoke it, it is that they make that their priority over taking care of their kids. I think that goes for anything. When a parent puts their own pleasures and addictions before the physical and emotional well-being of their kids, there is a definite problem.

I just don't want Big Sprout over there if the cops ever show up, and I don't want her getting the idea that living like that is okay. She is strong-minded enough already, I don't need her having more ammunition when she hits the Teen Years. ;D

Kati said...

LOL Certainly don't blame you for deciding it's a good thing Big Sprout doesn't think that kind of behavior is normal. I'm also of the mind that "do what you want in the privacy of your own home, but don't always expose your kids to it." I mean, hey, if you wanna have sex on every available surface when the kids are gone, great, but NO parent in their right mind is going to do that in front of their kids. Same should go for smoking pot. (Stronger drug use just shouldn't happen at all, at least not once you've got kids to be concerned about!)

You're certainly in the right to lay down the law as far as Sprout going to Pip's house, if Pip's parents are smoking in front of the kids.

Of course, there's the part of me that says, maybe the difference between the two households can be highlighted for the girls. At your house, not smoking pot in front of the kids, not lazing around all day long in front of a TV stuffing your faces, actually doing things as a family & taking part in their lives, and showing an interest in their stories, decorating for the holidays, etc. At Pip's house, sitting around on the couch, puffing on pot-sticks, not tearing their eyes off the TV, filling their faces with chips & alcohol & soda but nothing of the better-for-you sort, not taking an interest in their child's life, not out doing fun activities together, not decorating for the holidays. There's a big difference there.

My daughter has had the experience of seeing folks drunk off their asses and not knowing which end is up, and seeing my hubby & I indulge in ONE drink but maintain our dignity & sobriety. She's made the distinction herself that she's glad we don't get drunk regularly like her best friend's family does, because then her best friends parents are just really weird & annoying. And that's out of the mouth of a 10 year old!!!! (Though, she HAS seen her dad get rip-roaring drunk, once, and she found him funny in a terribly sad and "I never want to look that stupid" kind of way.) I DO think this kind of thing is an important distinction to be made. Whether or not your Sprouts ever end up drinking or smoking pot or such, the distinction can be made between safe, responsible enjoyment of a "drug" and completely letting the "drug" take over. Not, of course, that we encourage our children to partake, but they need to know that it doesn't have to be "All or NOTHING" with alcohol or pot, though nicotine should be a "don't ever do this!" sort of thing.