We went to church in Chatham this morning. The student council is doing this thing where the students are invited to attend a service at each of the several association churches. There usually aren’t very many students that come. Ethan’s old friend who is a girl was there along with her parents and siblings. I had determined when we got there that I was going to wave at her mom and just be normal again.

They had talked for almost two years via email. Senior year homecoming he finally asked her to a dance. It was funny and fun seeing him wanting to find a tie to match her dress. Neither of us knew what we were doing and I was trying to make things way more complicated by coordinating with the dress instead of full-on matching it. Once I understood that it really was as simple buying a purple tie, it was fine.

I used to read their emails–not very often, maybe a handful of times. I really just wanted to know what in the world they were talking about. I knew something was wrong when after the dance she didn’t talk to him hardly at all for the first 24 hours. That was the last dance they went to together. I’d seen her mom soon after the dance and she said the thing about how she’d had a good time as just friends.

It’s not that I was mad at the girl or the mom. They both are very sweet people. But I was a tad bit hurt that she couldn’t have just been a little more honest at the game when I saw her. I was prepared for a full on depression and heartbreak situation but he really seemed to bounce back fine. He had a friend who was good to him and had been through a similar situation with a girl. I stopped reading his emails then.

The older kids went back for youth group tonight. While they were gone Dad and I took the boys to Cancun. I told them earlier that I’d been in contact with the tooth fairy. She wanted them to take inventory of unaccounted for teeth. She goes on vacation, or gets busy, or forgets. Their teeth have definitely gotten more valuable as the years have gone on, at times worth five, ten, twenty dollars a piece.