For Love and Money

I have been so busy watching the Olympics that I haven't had time to blog. This will be a quick one so I can get back to cheering for USA.

BB (my 13 yr old son) wanted to have a serious talk with me the other day. He doesn't do this very often because it is very hard for him to express things. He was just diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD). He has to have more testing done but they are pretty sure he has Aspergers.

Anyway, he wanted to talk to me all by himself. We just happened to be at the local library so I sent LiLi and YaYa in and BB and I stayed in the tank. He has a very hard time getting everything out but finally told me he is having a difficult time concentrating at school and has been having very strong feelings for a girl that has talked to him 3 or 4 times. He is convinced that he is in love. Yep, true love! I talk to him a little about what he is feeling and find out that he is happy because she talks to him. Not many people talk to him in a nice, friendly manner. His ability to socialize with his peers is sadly lacking.

I do try to convince him that perhaps the strong feelings are happiness because he possibly has a friend. I then go on to explain how love evolves through getting to know another person, liking that person, sharing interests with that person, and developing a relationship with that person. I explain that I am not sure that love comes after 4 brief meetings. Crisis is over...He admits that he is very happy because someone is nice to him. We discuss how he can continue the relationship to try and develop a friendship. I assure him that it is okay to be happy and lose concentration (just as long as he gets his school work done first...)because friendship is a great thing.

A couple of days later I notice that BB has a pocket full of money. I haven't given him any and can't imagine where it has come from. Of course, I ask him about the source of his money and he tells me that he has been taking extra snacks to school and selling them to kids that didn't bring snacks for the day. He is really proud of himself because he is that much closer to buying a new game for his Nintendo DS.

It was not easy explaing to him that you could get kicked out of school for selling things. He didn't quite grasp that you have to have a special permit to sell food, it is against school rules, etc. Now I get to check his pockets each morning to make sure he only takes one snack to school.

I thought my kids were going through their snacks a little too fast!