High School Drop Out

As promised, here is the crazy story of how Cowboy’s younger brother no longer is in school. And for the record, I’m a huge advocate for attending school. No matter how many days, I skipped out, myself – I still think you need to be enrolled. Skipping is one thing. Dropping out is a whole other story.

We have Cowboy, Cowboy’s mom and Cowboy’s younger brother who is sixteen. It used to be that Cowboy and his younger brother would talk all the time but that was before he turned sixteen. You know of the trips that younger brother would take to come up here and have a video gaming marathon with Cowboy. They are close, especially given the fact that their older brothers are well into their thirties so growing up, it was just those two in the house.

A couple months ago about two weeks went by and Cowboy hadn’t heard anything from younger brother. He wasn’t worried and excused it as the boy is sixteen and off doing much cooler things with his friends and such. Then one day, Cowboy was on the phone with his mom and she casually said something about how younger brother was home. It was during the school hour. Cowboy questioned it and asked if younger brother was sick. Oh no, didn’t he know? Younger brother dropped out of school, like two weeks ago.

Let’s just say, Cowboy was livid. He was more livid that he found out two weeks later. Now, it doesn’t bother him at all. Me? Not so much.

I get livid thinking about it. I’m livid typing it out. Let me break it down for you. When I was in school, the only people that dropped out of school were pregnant girls and the extremely delinquent. That makes sense to me. Younger brother is neither. Younger brother dropped out of school because, and I quote, he saw an opportunity to make more money at his part time job if he went full time. His part time job is assisting a AC/Heating maintenance company. Doogie Howser, he’s not.

It gets better. I don’t know if I told you that Cowboy was home-schooled, so he didn’t go to high school. His older brothers both dropped out themselves. Younger brother has no historical evidence to keep his butt in school basically. Which to me, is the reason you should stay in school. I nearly cried when I found out the news. It really bothered me.

How can I say this, without sounding like a straight up snob? The older brothers, the ones that dropped out, well one of them is struggling all the time. Cowboy sends him money every month to help him and his three kids and wife out with bills, etc. They live without a lot of stuff and it kills me. That, right there, should be the reason to stay in school. That should be the reason to think, hey, I don’t want to live like that. That should also be what Cowboy tells him. Its not.

I don’t know how to explain it but its like this drop out news affected the family for about two days and then done. Now, they act like its nothing. What can be done? He dropped out, its not like he can go back. Uh, yes, he can! I’m not liking any of Cowboy’s family for the way this is handled. I complain to my mom about it more often than not. She’s seen how the older brother lives. It breaks her heart. It breaks mine. We blame Cowboy’s mom for allowing it to happen. We blame Cowboy and his brothers for not being more interested. It's like they advocate the situation.

Because get this – oh I hope you are sitting down and ready for your mouth to drop – you know I told you that when Cowboy has a day off, he gets online and plays War of Worldcraft with his brothers? One works from home; the other is the one that Cowboy helps out financially – so he is pretty much always home, so during the day, they play. All day. I’ve gotten over it because Cowboy stops when I get home.

Well, here comes the jaw dropper – they got all excited that now, younger brother can join in, too! YES. YES. All excited. Because now, its like a brotherhood band on that damn game all day long and they are so excited that the family is all involved and playing with each other – you know, while The View is on and normal people are either at work or in school?? That pissed me off.

I can’t even talk to Cowboy about it because then I sound like some hoity toity who went to school or some anti-brother bonding bitch. You know. So I have no sympathy for that younger brother when it comes to anything about him and/or not having holiday plans or a place to go. I’m sorry, I’m straight up cold that way.

Then on the drive back to Dallas from our Houston trip, Cowboy was speaking to younger brother about some speeding ticket younger brother got. When he hung up, I stated: it should be a law that if you drop out of school, you cannot get your drivers license. Cowboy looked at me like I was straight up crazy. Oh, yeah. I got his crazy.

When it comes to younger brother, you don’t want to talk to me, I’m 100% not supporting anything he does. Also, we haven’t seen him since he dropped out. He needs to know that once he sees me, he is in for a lecture that will at least last an hour. No joke. Because if it comes down to it, I will drive his ass back to that school and help re-enroll him. I will not and shall not advocate this. I’ll forge a doctors note for you to skip, but like I said, that’s a different story.