So, on Thursday at Therapeutic Recreation, one of the (girl) FRIENDS attached herself to Joshua...all day. I may have mentioned that there are mostly young ladies at TR and very few young men. Or, not enough to go around!
Jenni is typically not at TR on Thursdays, but some of Jenni's friends took it upon themselves to text Jenni and tell her that Joshua was "cheating on her" with this other girl.
Which.
(sigh)
Seriously?
The other night, Joshua was sitting here in our family room with us. Holly and Aaron were here, and we had the TV on and were talking...but Joshua was on the phone with Jenni. He likes to stay in the family room when he talks to her, so that if she asks him something that he doesn't feel like answering, he will just say, "well, my parents are in here listening." The little sneak. At this point, she will usually drop it because they like to think they are all private and everything.
Anyway, we heard the conversation...or Joshua's side of the conversation...and it went something like this:
Joshua: I don't know why everyone said I was cheating on you.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: I was just sitting with her. Actually SHE came and plopped down by ME.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: I would never cheat on you, Jenni. I mean I've thought about it, but I would never act on it. (oh dear)
REPEAT this conversation 9000 times.
Holly and Aaron left during this time and went home, and I went back to take a shower. When I came back to the room, Joshua was still on the phone...but it was OBVIOUS from the way he and Jim were acting that there had been some words.
I asked Jim about it, and he said that Joshua was saying the same type of stuff as before, and then he said...to Jenni...his girlfriend of over 10 years, "I guess I am kind of your trophy boy."
And that's how Jim's head blew off.
Because WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?
We are big "Everybody Loves Raymond" fans around here, and all I could think of was when Frank and Marie were in a big fight, and Marie tells him, "Don't tell me to be quiet! I have a mind of my own, you know. I'm not just some...trophy wife." And Frank looks at her and says, "TROPHY wife? What contest in Hell did I win?"
ANYWAY, Jim looked at Joshua, who is still on the phone with Jenni, and told him that he had gone over-the-line with that last statement.
And Joshua responded by: (blank stare)
Jim went back to take his shower, and I sat in the family room with Joshua, who was STILL on the phone. His conversation now went like this:
Joshua: My dad said I went over-the-line.
Jenni: (oh phone)
Joshua: I don't know why he said that.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: I agree. My dad IS being rude. He went all "Papaw Genie" on me.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: I don't know what made him mad...you and me were just talking.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: I agree. My dad needs to mind his own business.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: Okay, Jenni, I will tell him not to comment on our relationship.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: I love you, Jenni.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: You know I love you. I love your cute nose, too.
Jenni: (on phone)
Joshua: You're right, Jenni. Next time, we will talk where my dad can't hear me.
So this is why I tell Jim and our kids and my mother-in-law...DON'T.GET.INVOLVED. They, Joshua...Jenni...the FRIENDS...don't think like we do. They just don't. And the stuff they tell? It's not always accurate. And the stuff they say they are feeling...doesn't always mean what we think it means.
In many cases, not by a long shot.
Because do you see what happened? The conversation went from Joshua trying to convince Jenni that he hadn't "cheated" on her (even tho he admitted TO HER that he had thought about it) to both Joshua AND Jenni turning on Jim, and making HIM the bad guy.
I tried to tell him.
"The LORD hates...one who stirs up trouble among brothers." Proverbs 6:16,19
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