Alan & Brenda Leonard

> if he were in that
> situation, it'd be a real-world situation, and there he'd be. (And really,
> there aren't that many of those in the world.)

Military is like that. Lots of people get themselves into it for longer
than they want, and can't figure out how to get out. But there are ways, it
depends whether you're willing to pay the price. (less than honorable
discharge for patterns of misconduct, medical discharge for being
chronically overweight, etc.)

> Thirteen is awfully young to commit to two years, much less what he wants to
> do for the rest of his life.

Exactly. And there are precious few real-world situations where you can't
get out before you're eighteen years old. (Except school, if your parents
won't let you....)

> Besides, both of you have learned something really valuable here: sometimes
> before making a long, expensive commitment, it's a good idea to explore other
> options, and really think about how you want to do something.

And that lesson is WELL worth what you've paid for it.

brenda

Alan & Brenda Leonard

8/31/03 20:45:

> I'm sitting here thinking, how could I ever have known that this
> wasn't the right choice for him, when he told me it's what he wanted?

You couldn't have known. Becuase he's been responsible in the past with
trying and finishing things, you believed him. And he believed it himself.

But it turned out not to be right. Maybe you've never had this experience,
but now he has. I have; I dropped classes left and right in college. They
sounded good, but after a week or two, I realized they weren't right for me.
I still got my degrees, and I'm a reasonably responsible human. It's okay
to be wrong.

So this course isn't right for him. So? Is your anger over it and your
sarcasm going to help him feel better about being wrong? It isn't like he
intentionally was lying to you that this is what he wanted, trying to make
you waste money!

I'm sorry you're having a bad day with this. Maybe the whole decision could
be put off a day or two while you relax and think about it all.

brenda