We had a long talk with SS13 last night. We explained to him that his actions over the last few weeks in choosing not to do his school work pretty much guarantee that we aren't going to be going out of our way to get him into a private high school.

During the discussion, it dawned on me that he pretty much stopped caring and trying right around the time that BM told him she didn't care if he went to private school, that public was good enough for her and that she refused to help him with the financial aid forms as well. So I asked him if he noticed that as soon as his mom told him that a good school wasn't important to her, that that's when he stopped caring.

He agreed that that was exactly what happened.

I went to bed early last night and DH continued the conversation with SS late into the evening.

SS agrees that he is going to work harder and he's not going to let his BM's lack of caring ruin his chances at a good future.

We'll see.

This poor kid has been dealt such a hard hand with such a crummy mom. Not only did she leave him before he was 5 but now that she's back in his life, she pumps his head full of crap.