I'm Angry; Skip Reading If You Want

 Dearest Alex,

This is going to be a tough letter.  Your defiant attitude about not wanting to go to school for THREE HOURS has me seeing red, and I've not been this angry in a long time.

1) I love you.  You're my 1st grandchild and it hurts me so much to see you at this level of defiance.

2) Your Papa loves you very much also. He is fed up with your attitude and your seemingly unwillingness to join in family meals, unless we're going out to eat.

3) I don't know how it got into your head that somehow, you're in control of this family. Your Papa is the head of the family; I'm second in command.  You live under our roof; therefore, you are to follow our rules. You are 13 years old; that does not give you the right to go about your merry way and disregard our authority,

Yes, your father did a bad thing.

Yes, according to you, you're being picked on.

Guess what?  If you don't grow a thick skin, people will ALWAYS ridicule you. That's a fact of life you need to get through your head right now.

When you become a full-fledged adult, you're going to deal with people in authority over you:  Bosses. Supervisors. Coworkers with seniority.  There will be hazing; there will be people you won't get along with but be forced to work side by side.

The ONLY thing you can do is learn to deal with it.  I worked for two years with a toxic manager, and thankfully she quit.  I have coworkers I tolerate and those I genuinly like.

Your Papa is aging, and he's always had a temper. When he told you to pack your bags, he wasn't throwing you out of the house; it was NOT a rejection; he is just at his wit's end with your behavior and decided to let your mother handle you.

I sincerely hope MeeMaw and Myranda talk some sense into you.

Because at this point, your choices are to a) go home; b) go to the mental place in Evansville; or c) Foster care.  I don't know if enrolling you in K12 is the answer.  You would have to be a self-starter and actually WORK at it, with one of us as your Learning Coach, much like I did with your Uncle Will in the 4th and 5th grades.

Bottom line, young lady.....we love you and we want you to succeed in life.  And that means holding up your end of the bargain and going to school.

Love,

Grandma

(who is very angry and upset with you at the moment)