Hobos and Prostitutes

Warning: Mom you might not want to read this one. :P Also.. any of you relatives that are nosy busybodies that like to question other people's parenting styles who probably read this on the sly just to make sure I am not talking about you.. skip it too.

Last night I went over the my ex's house for dinner and a movie. She listens to the soundtrack to Rent often and the boys have been asking to see the movie that goes with it. As there are quite a few tough topics to discuss in that movie, we had decided that when we thought they were ready, that we would sit down and watch it with them so we could discuss the issues that were brought up. Needless to say, we had quite a few pauses while we talked seriously about what HIV and AIDS is, and how it affects people. We discussed some of the people and relationships in the movie. I can say I am quite proud at the insightful questions they asked and how well they handled the answers.. most of which were not easy to wrap their heads arounds.

One of G's first questions was of course.. is the whole movie going to be songs like it has been so far? Well yes, it is a musical after all. We watched the whole thing, with all our pauses, and at the end of the movie K asked the boys the question, "What did you think was the main theme of this movie". I could see the look in both boys' eyes that said 'Whoa.. no one said there was going to be a quiz afterwards!'. They thought about it for a minute.. and B says, "I think it was about love." Well damn, that was a good answer! There were so many things he could have focused on, but once again my kids amaze me with what they perceive and pick up on. It was mainly about relationships and love and how events around them affect that.

After the whole thing was said and done, G was clowning around a bit like he always does and K says to me, "Did G tell you what he said on New Years?" I was of course in AZ and didn't see them for several days after, so I said no. G apparently told everyone that when he grew up he wanted to be a prositute and marry a hobo. I was in shock. Why would my 11 year old come up with a statement like that? For shock factor of course, but still.. does he know what the terms mean? Does he have any idea what he is saying? So we asked him if he knew what the two terms meant. He said he didn't know what a prostitute was, so we got to explain that to him. When he found out the meaning he decided he didn't want to be a prostitute after all. /whew

Not to let a good thing go however, he changed his statement. He said, "Nevermind.. I think I will be the hobo and marry a prostitute instead. That way I can do nothing and she can earn the money."

Well lets just keep that tidbit to yourself when people ask what you want to be when you grow up shall we? We are all laughing at this point. Probably shouldn't have been, but it was funny just the same. Let's just hope he keeps telling Nana that he wants to be a Vet or a Zoologist. Don't need to be giving Nana a heart attack or anything. It seems somewhere along the line I made an error in parenting for this to have come up, but hey.. he gets good grades, is polite and well behaved and is an all around great kid. At least he will be a smart, courteous hobo who will treat his prostitute wife well!