Dear Blake,
The 14-year-old son of a friend of mine is having self-esteem issues and apparently is going through a very rough patch. Our family likes to participate in charity races. My boy, 13, is a talented athlete who, according to my friend, is an “overachiever.” My friend signed her family up for the same race as our family, then called me afterward to tell me she was having anxiety issues about us being there and asked me to forgo the race. (We had already paid for four registrations.) She said she could see my child taking off, winning the race and boasting to the point where her child would feel like a loser and have more self-esteem issues. I told her we had been planning to compete in this race as a family for some time, and I didn’t think it would be right to pull my child out of something he loves to do. She got very upset, said some horrible things to me and ended our friendship. Was I wrong not to agree to do as she asked for the sake of her child?
Signed, Bonita
From Louisville, Kentucky
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Dear Bonita,
It’s unfortunate that your son’s friend has some major self-esteem issues. It’s even more unfortunate that your son’s friend’s mother is a complete idiot. She wants you to yank your son out of the race? That still doesn’t mean her son will win. Ok, here are my suggestions. Tell her you’ll back out if she pays for all four registrations plus interest, gas, meals, hotel fees, airline tickets, plus any other thing that you’re not entitled to in regards to the local race. Or, you can ask her how is she going to deal with the fact that her son may not be the smartest kid in his class, and would she be willing to pay the other students to fail? Here’s another option. Have your son invite him over, and you as an adult should explain to his friend that he is never going to amount to much in life. But also tell him that after talking to his mother, the only reason why he’s a worthless loser, is because it was genetically transferred. However, his biggest problems will happen when he becomes an adult. Ask her what is he going to do when he becomes a man, and a woman rejects him? Will he accept the fact that she’s not interested in him and move on, or turn into a modern day Jack the Ripper who’s “slicings” she’ll undoubtedly try to justify. I wouldn’t doubt that his moronic mother blames the murders on the manufacturers of the steak knives, hatchets, and surgical equipment. I hope this helps.
Blake