Slings and arrows, here he comes!

Michael starts his first job this week.

We've been talking up his getting a job for quite a while now, but with not much response from him. Oh, he'll respond enthusiastically about the idea of the money he'll make and the things he could learn, but hand him the want ads and he'll thank you for them, then go back to his video games and eventually walk away leaving the paper lying on the floor, forgotten.

(Hmmm, think I could make that sentence any more run-on?)

He did go so far as to pick up a few applications from fast food places he went with his friends, but he never got as far as actually filling them out. As a matter of fact, he never got as far as actually getting them out of his friends' cars. He has empty applications littering half the teenagers' cars in this corner of our state.

Last week we took matters in hand. We informed him that I would be chauffering him around to fill out applications. All day would be fine; for however long it took him to get everywhere he wanted to apply we would be glad to help him out. Then we gave him lots of advice about how to dress, how to act, what to say and what information to have on hand.

He was shocked to find out that it was the best idea to fill out the application there. He was even more horrified to find out that we expected him to wear nice pants and a collared shirt. He also had to shower and shave, ultimate indignity!

He looked pretty good all cleaned up and I handed him a cheat sheet I'd typed up for him with such useful information as the names and addresses of his references and Social Security number.

He wound up only filling out two applications, because you see, when I dropped him off at the mall, only one store said they were hiring. I didn't have the heart to explain to him that you fill out applications for everyone, regardless, because someday soon they will be hiring. The other store was a fast food place he loves and they said they wanted him back for an interview in two days.

Yes, that's the job he got. I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. I'm not sure it was good for him to go out and get a job so easily. Of course, I'm sure he'll have plenty of time to learn about how rough the job market can be and a little confidence out of the starting gate can be a good thing, right? Besides, now he won't be spending his entire summer rotting his brain on video games and destroying his body with junk food. OK, so he'll still be destroying his body with junk food (he told me he'd be happy if they just paid him in tacos) but at least part of the time he will be constructively engaged in learning about the grown-up world of high expectations and hard consequences.

He thinks we're mean? Wait until he ticks off his boss.