Unfortunately for some people, they are drug addicts. I myself am a confessed Drug Idiot. My friend Cori shares this condition with me. Drug Idiots are people who are so inexperienced with drug culture and vernacular that whenever anyone references terms for drugs or drug use, we are left as puzzled and out of place as Martha Stewart at a Pantera concert.
Our friend Julie teaches at the local "alternative" high school, and she tries her best to keep Cori and me hip on terms like "chief a fat blunt" and "boot the gong". (I admit, I Googled "marijuana slang" for the second one. The first one is the only one Julie has taught us that I could remember so far. However, I also admit that I don't remember EXACTLY what it means.)
You may be asking yourself why a couple of suburban housewives like Cori and me need to know this stuff anyway. If we couldn't get the drug lingo down in college, why would we need the information now? The answer is because we are parents of kids who will eventually be exposed to drugs.
Now please, if you don't think marijuana is a drug, save your time, and don't send me a Power Point of your argument. I live in Kansas, and possessing it is still illegal here, and I hope it always will be. Also, unless you are smoking it under doctor's orders to relieve the pain from the side effects of your cancer treatment, you aren't going to convince me that one good thing ever came into your life from using it or any other illegal drug.
When it comes to our kids and drugs, ignorance is most certainly NOT bliss. Not knowing what is out there and available to our children in today's world, how it is referred to, and how it is obtained is just plain dumb. The ostrich in the sand routine was okay when your toddler was having a meltdown, and you couldn't reason with them. Taking the same path of silence and withholding attention when it comes to who and what is trying to ruin the health and the lives of our teens and even pre-teens is not.
It's our responsibility as caring and concerned parents to take the time to become familiar with what temptations our kids could be facing in a short time. The first time I was offered drugs as a kid was in 7th grade. SEVENTH GRADE. Some of you may fault the fact that I went to a public school made up mainly of students whose parents had a working-class background and not a private/Christian one located amid a cluster of tony subdivisions. Brother/Sister, please! Don't make the mistake of assuming that sex, drugs and rock n' roll are only a part of secular/public schools in the hood or schools located less than a dozen miles from it. Surely, you're not that naive.
I think the key to our kids making the right decisions as teens starts with first educating ourselves as to what's out there. Learn about what they are faced with. Talk to your pre-teens about drugs, and along with cautioning them against their use of them, sympathize with them as to what kind of pressures may be placed on them to experiment with them. They need to know that we feel compassion for them and that they can come to us anytime they feel pressured or have questions.
I could write a whole other blog entry on what I think are the keys to keeping a close relationship with your kids and the long-term benefits that has for them (and us) as pre-teens, teens and adults. Suffice it for now to say that the more they feel that you "get it" and get them, the more likely they are to open up to you about anything.
Another point is that I need to pay closer attention to Julie's lessons on "Drug Culture for Dummies". (Hey, Jules, there's a book idea for you right there! I won't take any royalties for it. Just give me a shout out on the dedication page. Muah!) I want to understand what my kids will be facing so that they never, ever end up in her class.
She's an awesome teacher, and it takes an exceptionally special heart to teach day in and day out in an alternative school. But I would rather have my kids come first to their dad and mom who are in the know about drugs and alcohol, and for them to find understanding about what they are going through as teens so that, unlike Julie's students, they hopefully make the right choices.
So if you hear me talking about a "clam bake" and wonder wassup with that since I live in a land-locked state, maybe you'd best pick up a copy of Julie's book and get a little more informed there as well, Jack. That way, when the appropriate time comes, you can educate your kids about drugs and not the other way around. I think we can agree that's one curve we all want to be ahead of and not behind.
Sparkly Kisses,
D
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