My Job.

So many of my friends know I work a t a "group home" for teenage boys. Well lets just say it has been an adventure from the first day I came to meet the program and the boys that are here. We mostly deal with kids that have drug and alcohol dependancy issues. Sure I drank while I was in highschool and I messed around with other things as well. I never got caught being the difference. We have a common theme amongst the boys though, that being affluence. Many of these boys come from money. We also have a few kids that come from the "poor side of town" or my favorite euphamism " economically stressed" families. This always leads to interesting conversations at the dinner table. The rich kids tend to talk a lot more and make empty threats, whereas the kids from the other side will just start hitting.

I think one of my favorite conversations I have ever taken part in is what I call the "tussin" conversation. We had a kid who was sent here by an aunt to try to "save" him from a life that his older brother was going down. Well this kid who will remain nameless just happened to be one of the loudest kids I have ever heard in my life. He even breathed loud. Well we were talking about being sick and what my parents or as he said "white parents" do. I told him that my parents were both nurses so they knew if I was faking or not. He said he didn't believe me and that my mom was not one for bull shit. Well he was like I would just get this "tussin" for everything. If I had a headache...tussin, if I skinned up my knee...tussin. If I was messing my drawers...tussin. I finally did what every ignorant white kid does and asked what this "tussin" was. He goes "its tussin man, you know they got commercials and stuff on it." I'm still at a loss. Then quite literally a commercial came on. It was a Robitussen. I was amazed. How did I miss that? It's not like I have lived in a cave my entire life.

Well I have learned a lot of things since I started working here a little over a year and a half. I keep looking forward to the lessons I will be learning.