Letter 2/Dear Skipper: Where in the World Is Your Pause Button?

How can you go from a winning soccer game and dinner in the kitchen nook to such crazy behavior?

Dennis the Menace with Alice, his mom. Dennis is 5 1/2; his mom is 30, tops. But you, Skip, are 13 — and this old Alice is 59. I ‘m not your mom (we couldn’t legally adopt you), but I definitely mother you. I hope one day you see that. Cartoonist: Hank Ketcham. Image found HERE.

Dear Skipper,

It’s 9:31 p.m. on Saturday night.

I’m upset, disgusted, discouraged.

You have problems with impulse control. You have ADHD. But your behavior is sometimes REALLY hard to take.

It was a beautiful, brisk fall day. Even I wore a jacket, and I’m usually hot in all seasons. You had a 4:55 p.m. soccer game at Brookdale Park. Since we are in the Covid pandemic, all players had to have their temperatures taken at the field, before the game. All parents/caregivers were required to sign a form (we do so before each game) saying you don’t have a fever, hadn’t spent time with someone with Covid, etc. And we are required to wear masks and sit on the bleachers, at social distance, not stand down on the grassy sidelines to cheer. Players and coaches wear masks to and from the field. Some wear them to play, some do not.

Your team won. You got some good kicks in, defending the goal. You’re on a co-ed team for the first time (7th/8th/9th grade recreation league). The three other girls on the team are your friends MW, BF and Sy.