You know why I'm angry? I'm not even sure its anger. Its more of a continual frustration. My wife and I go to church on Saturday nights. The boy wants to go skating with his friends on Saturdays so she doesn't insist he go to church with us. Fine. Whatever.

Tonight after service we go to the skating rink to pick him up and two girls who live nearby us.

I'm driving and these kids are just snots. "Screw this and screw that" and they're all touchy feelly with each other. I look at the wife and she's just ignoring it. I say you kids need to calm down, after they're biting each other or something.... wife looks at me like I'm crazy. A bit later, I look again and this time the boy and one of the girls are kissing...

I look at the wife still looking out the window being mad because I "embarrassed" her son. I look back in the rear-view and say "You guys need to stop kissing right now. I'm serious".

I've tried to disengage from this, but I have never in my life seen such complete disrespect from a child. ESPECIALLY in the presents of adults. I wanted to stop at the girls house and walk up to the father and tell him this is whats going on with your daughter. If it was my daughter behaving that way I'd want to know. I'd also want to beat the crap out of the boy and the parents of the boy who allowed this to happen. That maybe why I didn't.

When we get home, my wife says to me, "Why did you embarrass him like that?" Why didn't you just tell me?"

Excuse me?? You were sitting right next to me and just ignoring the whole damn thing. They could have been having sex for all you were paying attention!

And I told her something along those lines.

My frustration and my anger comes in where I know that all this boy needs is a father. A man to show him how to act and treat other people. A man to sit him down and explain to him when he's done something wrong and why. But she doesn't want him to have a father. She wants to be his whole world, even if it turns him into a disrespectful jackass who has no lines he worries about crossing because he knows his mom will let him slide..

I try. I try to at least be an example of something. Its just so damn hard when I feel like I'm being punished simply for wanting to be a part of his life.

Embarrassed. Pfftt... He should be embarrassed... he should be apologizing to not only us, but to that girls parents. We should be apologinzing to that girls parents.

Oh she's angry for sure. Mostly at me I would guess. I heard her earlier on the phone with her sister. I don't speak spanish but I pick up enough to know when she's talking about me. Usually in rapid words and high pitched tones.

I'm angry too. I tried being a part of his life. That didn't work. I tried disengaging. That didn't work.

I don't know. I'm just... here.