Smells Like Trouble

We went to pick up my 14-year-old after a dance at school last week. He gets in the car and my wife says, “Why were you drinking?”

Wow! Talk about an aggressive interrogation technique —where did that come from, Law & Order?

We’ve been down this road before. You learn to spot the signs and what questions to ask. When my older son was in high school I once followed his footprints in the snow to the spot where he and a friend hid their empties. Another time I threatened to drag him down to the police station for a breathalyser.

Teenage drinking has been around as long as there have been teenagers and alcohol, and that’s a long time. The cat and mouse game between parents and their kids would be comical if not for the inevitable tragedies fueled by booze.

So, how did you know he was drinking, anyway?

“I could smell it.”

Then I realized that what she caught a whiff of wasn’t my son’s breath, but the huge dollop of Purell I’d squirted into my hands as he was getting in the car. I’m obsessed with that stuff.

Bottom line: trust, but verify —and if your kid tells you it’s just Purell smell his hands.

4 thoughts on “Smells Like Trouble

  1. HAHA. Thankfully, a funny ending. I commend you and your wife for addressing it head on and not pretending it won’t happen as too many parents do. Keep it up!

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