Boys at the Pool

I went to the pool last night after dinner. There were two chubby boys there, half brothers, ages 15 and 9. They were "in training." The older one was "teaching" the younger one. The younger one mentioned something about "failing my very first training." I asked about it. They were training to be Navy SEALS.

These boys were quite chatty. I learned all sorts of things! For example, the older one is in special education/resource. He often skips school by heading for the bus stop, hanging out with kids at the bus stop, and then not getting on the bus. He goes home and plays video games all day. The adults in his life don't find out about it until they get home from work in the afternoon. They tell him to stop skipping.

The younger boy swore up and down to me that he loves to read. I asked him if he's been reading anything over the summer. He couldn't think of a single title. The older boy smiled and said, "He NEVER reads!"

The boys kept moving closer to me and because there weren't any other people and/or adults around, I kept subtly moving away. Didn't work well. They kept on chatting and getting closer.

I further learned that the boys were "born of the same mother." I thought it was such and interesting phrase for a nine year old to use. I further learned that although divorced, the younger boy's father is currently living with them because "we had to bail him out of jail." I further learned that because they bailed him out of jail, he now owes them $200. In fact, "Every time we bail him out of jail, he owes us another $200." He keeps getting arrested for drug dealing. The older boy piped up, "Yeah, our mom got mixed up with him and then...it's really sad, but...she became an alcoholic."

They asked if I had a husband or any kids. I told them my husband didn't want to swim, but that he was washing dishes. Big grins! I told them I did a lot of laundry before heading to the pool and that my husband volunteered to do the dishes. That statement brought an interesting comment (as if the previous comments weren't interesting already). The older one said, "Yeah, we cooked ribs about two weeks ago, but we just barely washed the pan today. It reeked!" I asked how they washed it and he said his grandmother soaked it in bleach. Okay, well, there's someone in their lives who knows what to do...

The boys told me stories about riding four wheelers, shooting guns, getting stitches, and many other things. I decided it was time to leave so I said goodbye and got out of the pool. They called to me, "Will you be here tomorrow night?"

No, I won't be there. We have other plans. Those two boys really let me see how much children need responsible adults in their lives. Children need to talk. They need an adult to listen. I didn't ask them anything except what grade they were in and whether they were looking forward to school starting. I never even told them my name, but they were looking forward to seeing me again. God bless those boys.