good choices

I waited around all morning for the tractor excavator guy to stop by. He didn't show up so I went up to the club for a delightful lunch with friends. As I left the club he called apologizing that a job he was working went over and he had no cell service at the country location. I told him to come by as I was available.

He arrived at my front door in light brown car hart overalls, looking like he had been working hard. An older gentleman with a limp from climbing around all day on a construction sight. He knew his stuff. I took him out to the back deck to look at the yard. He offered the opinion that we could just turn our backs and ignore it. He also said I didn't have a lot of dirt to work with. he would have to be judicious to make it work. He said all the black berries need to be gone and everything on the ground scraped away. The decomposing debris would create a slick carpet under the new dirt if it was left and cause the ground to slide away unless the top layer of the old dirt was clean of the dead blackberries. What a chore, with that news I knew it would be a while. besides we want the soil really dry before we move it around, the least disturbed the better.

I told him I did want that retaining wall as you could see the ground slumping away slowly. We want to stop that erosion for good. He said the project would cost $2200 just to move the dirt around to where we would want it. Create two terraces. one at the house level and one below. He said it would create probably a six to eight foot retaining wall, no way to get around it, there just wasn't enough product or soil to work with, on the first level. the lower level wouldn't be so bad. H wasn't allowed to put anything over the sewer system, which is the deer path. So the project will end short of that deer path. I will still continue to clear to the fence. Plant my fruit trees down at the fence as I know that area will be undisturbed once the black berries are gone.

I called the dig line to have the water and electric marked out so I knew where everything was. When the water people marked the line for me yesterday, they gave me the paperwork from an earlier camera scoping of the sewer line. We don't have a clean out on our property. There are ones on both sides of us. Around our hook up at the bottom of our property on the the deer trail, three feet under ground, are leaks and roots. I asked if I should be concerned. The Utility man said it was their problem on the main sewer line. The line wasn't bad enough to deal with yet. I just have to be careful not to dig or bury that area, thus defining the upper terrace. I may only put in the one retaining wall for the upper house at this time. Especially if the excavation alone is $2200. Can't wait to hear what an engineered wall costs, since we are over four feet.

Last night Trev went to a teen activities center a non profit organization sponsors. A friend has been before and thought he would like it. He was dropped off a few minutes before the doors opened. The friend saw some other friends and rather than check in when the doors opened opted to skip out. This program lasts until 10:30 once the doors opened. It is well supervised with a couple of gyms to play pick up basket ball or dodge ball or do crafts in the rooms. There are TVs with movies and comfortable couches. There are multi player WII games or X box. Its a night for teens in a safe environment, if you go inside.

I am so happy and grateful Trevor opted to go inside. He made the right decision. The friend will be in huge trouble having chosen to not go safely into the building. Running around in a not so nice area of town after dark is just looking for trouble. Who know the next time what might happen.

Trevor had a blast, and wants to go again. He said Riley would love it since they have the multi player WII games and X box. Trevor knew other people there from school. Funny thing is he said he didn't know every one's names but they knew his. I hear through the grape vine of parents of other children he is well liked at school.

He was texting like mad in the back seat while I was trying to have a conversation with him. I asked who he was texting. His regular text friend had her phone taken away for receiving an inappropriate picture from another boy. That boy needs to be reported, but I will leave it to the her parents to work it out. Trev said she was totally pissed and blew up at the young man at school for causing her to have her phone privileges revoked for something he did.

Mean while Trev is texting another girl. I ask if she is pretty. He says yes, but she is in a wheel chair from a birth defect. He legs didn't develop. I glow with pride. My boy does not discriminate against girls with disabilities. He is texting madly. Of course now that he has unlimited texting I will have to start checking his conversations just to make sure they are appropriate. Wouldn't want Trev to get himself or anyone else in trouble like that other young man. At 11:00 pm another text comes in. I hear the phone do its little warning jingle. I tell Trev there will need to be rules. No texting after 9:30 pm on school nights. No texting after 10:30 pm on weekends, though I know there will be exceptions.

One of my other friends told me her daughter hasn't been getting enough sleep because she will receive and respond to text calls until two in the morning, causing sleepless nights. I want to nip that issue now. I told Trev he will have his phone confiscated at night if he stays up late texting. He is hard enough to deal with when he reads a book late at night. He needs his sleep. He texts his friend the new rules and picks up his book to read. I did not hear the phone again.

I am just so pleased with Trevor and his choices. He owes me money for his camps. I am posting the debit and credits on the fridge. I told him last night his good decisions have bought him some credits toward camp. No yard work needed. There are still plenty of hours owing. I am not worried about losing some hard labor. I wanted to reward him for his good choices.

He recognized the idiocy of his friend leaving to go carousing for trouble, and moved away from the situation. He makes friends with cute girls in wheel chairs along with cute girls in band. He plays in the pep band, he plays football, he does scouts. He goes early to school to get his work done for the classes he is struggling in. I glow with parental pride.

Not to leave Riley out of the equation, he has been living an exemplary semester. Trying to stay on top of his grades. He passed his drivers class without a hitch. Still has 40 more hours needed behind the wheel before he can get his real license. Trevor is going to take Riley with him to the teen night next time. Now that Riley has heard from his brother what it is about he is more amenable to going. Riley was intrigued by the eight player gaming. My goal is to get Riley interested in something healthy outside the house, give him a little social life.

So the move seems to have been good for everyone. Everyone is settling in nicely. We have been hear a little over six months now.