But it's mine...

As a parent, how often do you hear THAT phrase? This morning while we were all getting ready to get out the door, my younger son put on a pair of ratty old sneakers that were begging to be thrown away. So my husband went over and before the boy could see what was happening, he picked up the shoes and threw them in the trash. "But those were my shoes!!" the boy cried. Keep in mind, they were a size too small and had more holes than soles. Hee-hee. An argument begins and the boy was reminded that he had an actual GOOD pair of sneakers to wear. He was not being forced to leave the home and go out in to the bitter morning cold shoe-less. This was not enough reasoning. My son went on to reprimand his father by saying "You know, you say that you do these things for my own good but aren't they really for YOUR own good?" Pretty logical thinking for one about to get punished.

A similar argument was heard in our home last week when I went to take the cell phone away from the teenager because he had broken our rules and that was to be his punishment. When he was asked to turn over the phone we were told "No, it's mine. I'm not going to do that." Ownership is HUGE to some people. Perhaps it is a form of control, I don't know. But what I do know is that when they say it to me (or to any adult for that matter), they are usually being disrespectful.

This morning at the store, a teenage boy came in for class with a knife strapped to his leg. A hunting knife. Not a little pocket knife, but a big "you-can-gut-a-deer-as-well-as-cut-a-tomato" sized knife. He was told last week to not bring the knife/weapon in to the store. He argued with us and said "But it's mine" but eventually relented. Today he came in with it again. When I called his name as he attempted to whiz right by me, he yelled "NO!" and kept on walking. This is not a young child but an 18 year old. I was shocked and appalled by this behavior. So I nearly jumped over the desk and followed him in to his class and he looked at me and said "But it's MINE!" Seriously dude, get a clue here! Weapons in school are a no-no. And at 18 you're a little bit too old to be pulling the "it's mine" whine, too. Man up.

Is it happy hour anywhere yet because as of right now, IT'S MINE!