Immature Man
The yard was in a horrible state. He turned to look at his son as he screamed as hard as he could. He was furious, more than he had ever been before.
But no one seemed to mind, that was the point. It was time for this spoiled and immature man to see that they were serious. Things had to change and they had to change immediately.
So Lazy
Laziness wasn’t attached to any specific generation. But, for some reason, Frank saw way more kids sitting around doing nothing compared to when he was their age.
Maybe it was because they walked around with their noses in the phones every day? Maybe he was just sick of his own kid doing it.
Just Games
His son, Jeremy, had been out of college for over a year.
It had already been three years wasted on a useless Liberal Arts degree, but now it was hours of stupid video games and nothing else. To put it mildly, parental support was being taken advantage of. Arguments of university loans became a nightly, dinner-table event.
Dinner Drama
It started with chicken stew leftovers of all things.
His wife had put extra love and care into the meal – so much that they had plenty of leftovers for a couple of days. A fire lit in Frank’s stomach as he watched his son plop down, sneer at the food, and then pull out his phone.
Enough Is Enough
“No phones at the table,” he said, finally having enough of the entire situation.
An explosion from Jeremy was expected but not of this proportion. He watched as his son stood up yelled how everything in their house was horrible. He was “tired of eating this garbage and was pizza too much to ask for.”
Emotion Explosion
It was like reliving the infuriating teenage years. It had been a nightmare.
Frank watched as tears started to build in his wife’s eyes and his son bellow every complaint and insult his brain could spew out. It was insane! It had to stop. And the answer was simple.
Two Weeks
Frank turned to his son, narrowed his gaze, and said, “Fine. Then you’re not our son living here for free anymore. You’re a tenant paying rent. Get a job. You have two weeks. Don’t like it? You can move out.”
He would soon find out he would have to show his son how serious he really was.
No Change
One week later, nothing had changed.
Frank’s fists clenched into tight balls as he watched Jeremy fiddle on a game, chug back sodas, and shove handfuls of potato chips in his mouth … then wipe his hands on the sofa. It had to end. He stormed to his son’s room with a big empty box.
Box Of Discord
Boxes, games, cables, controllers, CDs, covers, and whatever else even remotely looked like a game – it all went in the box.
He dumped it in a big pile on the lawn. Then, he went for the living room stuff. It was the start of the WWIII level argument and Frank’s final straw. Jeremy’s eyes went huge as he ran outside.
Taking Action
Frank pointed to the pile. Taking advantage of his family had to stop. He wasn’t a kid anymore and they weren’t going to take his ridiculous behavior!
Furious excuses and insults poured out of Jeremy’s mouth. Frank got on his huge riding lawnmower and turned the key. The blades whirled.
Turn The Key
The mower was fast. His son’s face went pale and full of horror as Frank went straight for the pile of family contention.
Plastic cracked into tiny bits and sailed across the yard. Paper and metal joined the mix. The expensive collection was utterly destroyed. Frank had to admit something…
Ultimatums
It felt great. The satisfaction of watching his son’s meltdown was so better than expected – even with the rage-filled screams echoing over their property.
The line had been drawn. He wasn’t going to let a man-child brat live under their roof any longer. He handed Jeremy the keys with very simple instructions.
Get A Job!
There was a full tank of gas. He was going to drive into town and he wasn’t going to come back until he had a job.
It didn’t matter if he had to sleep in the car. There was no way he was stepping foot inside the house again unless he was employed.
Any Employment
It didn’t matter if it was flipping burgers or pumping gas. Any honest day’s work was respectable.
He held his wife tight as they watched him speed away. Gravel flew through the air and a billow of dust signaled his departure. But what would happen in the end?
Payment List
The sour son came back that night – job offer in hand.
He was going to join the exciting world of supermarket shelf stocking. Frank handed him a list of rental expenses – complete with a family discount. He could tell his son hated it, but no more arguments detonated. It was the best outcome possible.