Shelby
and Currant were first introduced when they were in grade school but they
became the best of best of friends while attending their after school program
and discovered their commonalities which made it easy for them to build a
relationship. They were so much a like
that it was easy to mistake them for twins or at least brothers. Besides the fact that they were both handsome
high yellow little boys with light brown hair and green eyes, they were both
left handed; loved baseball; their favorite ice cream was cookie dough and they
were both allergic to peanuts. They had
no siblings, loved animals and believe it or not they both had a slight stutter
when they spoke.
They
initially gravitated towards each other because they were lefties, in fact they
were the only two left handed boys in their after school program. Neither of them were self-conscious about
readjusting their pen, paper and/or notebooks opposite of their classmates; the
odd way they had to maneuver the right handed scissors so they could cut items
neatly; or to reach for items with their left hand; lead with their left foot
when walking, running or dancing. One of
the reasons they had so much confidence was because their teacher, Miss Matheson,
was left handed and she was a great confidence builder.
Neither
of the boys knew their mother but they both idolized their fathers who were good
hard working men that loved their sons to life.
Shelby’s dad, Orin, was super neat, organized, punctual and pretty
methodical. He and Shelby had a routine
for everything: getting up in the
morning, washing up, breakfast, tidying the kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms
before they left and their departure time.
Shelby arrived at school at least 15 minutes prior to the bell ringing every
morning unless he was sick and that rarely happened because he and Orin took
vitamins and ate very healthy meals. The
night before, Orin laid their clothes out and made their lunches like clockwork. They rarely varied from their routine but
when they did it threw them both off, especially Orin.
Currant’s
dad, C2, was more laid back. C2 was a
preacher’s kid who grew up in a household where everything had to be done to
the best of their abilities. There was
very little room for error because C2’s dad, Rev. Currant Tymes, I, insisted
that since God gave his best, they too must always give their best no matter
what the task was. Giving your best
meant sacrificing far more than other “regular” kids, even those who were
members of the church. They were at
church all day Sunday, back Sunday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night,
Friday night and sometimes Saturdays. They
were the first ones at church and generally the last to leave. This left very little time for a social
life. Rev. Tymes was as strict as they
come and he was a typical stompin, sweatin, shoutin preacher who was 6’4” 300
lbs and could eat anybody under the table.
But he was an undercover alcoholic womanizer which was the primary
reason C2 left home at 18 and vowed he would never raise his kids like that,
force them to live like cult members and he refused to live as a hypocrite. C2 vowed to live a laid back life because he
didn’t want his son to live under structure on steroids so he chose to live and
model a life of ease. For example: Currant didn’t have a bed time but since he
wasn’t a night owl he was usually asleep by 9:00 pm; his messy disorganized
tendencies didn’t bother C2 until he needed something like his tools; the iron;
his brush, the deodorant, etc.
C2
and Currant spent a lot of unnecessary time looking for items since they
generally didn’t put things in their place because there really wasn’t a place
for stuff, they just put it down where they finished with it. This self-imposed lifestyle was far more costly
than C2 realized. For example:
· He always overbought
grocery items, cleaning supplies, etc. because his cabinets were a mess so he spent
unnecessary money purchasing items he didn’t need;
· He seemed to be at
Target or Wal-Mart every other week buying socks because Currant could never seem
to find the mates; it almost seemed as if he or the dryer were eating them. C2 finally resolved that issue by purchasing the
same plain white tube socks; no more cartoon characters, besides, Currant was
getting too big for that type of thing.
· They arrived late
for far too many functions (e.g. movies, sporting events, etc.) causing
self-imposed stress while trying to get to the desired function, find parking
and only to end up frustrated which was ridiculous because all he had to do was
map out his travel plans, consider traffic and leave a little earlier.
· Waiting until the
last minute to submit applications caused him to lose out on great employment and
housing opportunities which is why he and Currant are still living in a 1-1/2
bedroom apartment and he is looking for a second job to save money for a larger
living space, preferably one he can purchase.
· The unnecessary
late fees and insufficient funds fees that he has paid over the past year could
probably be put towards a down payment for something
While
C2’s motive to be free spirited and not raise his son in such a strict
environment is noble, he has no balance and Currant is beginning to model C2’s
irresponsible behavior.
Well,
I would tell you, but I’m all out of time, so you’ll have to wait until
tomorrow, but remember this:
Do not be deceived, God is not
mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 (NASB)
Because of his undeserving favor
Tania not Tanya
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