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<p>An unexpected boomerang effect of parenting is that you get to see some of yourself reflected back to you in your children.</p><p>For instance, each of my sons has more than just a touch of their old man&#8217;s sardonic sense of humor. And as they have gotten older (they&#8217;re now 22 and 17), it surfaces more and more.</p><p>So this happened last winter:</p><p>Upon learning that school would be closed due to snow, our youngest, then a high school junior, was coming upstairs to announce that he would be spending time playing with friends in the snow.</p><p>Good, clean, outdoor fun.</p><p>Yea! Great!</p><p>But when we started to explore what time he would be home and how he would get home in a raging snowstorm, plans suddenly shifted.</p><p>He was back upstairs a short time later to announce that he would be staying overnight at the house of his friend, who happens to be a girl.</p><p>And who else will be staying there, I asked, my eyebrows arching.</p><p>Oh, so-and-so, he says, naming yet another girl.</p><p>And what will be the sleeping arrangements, I ask, my eyebrows now arching in a way that would make McDonald&#8217;s envious.</p><p>Let me pause here to say that my son is an extraordinarily responsible young adult, sociable, outgoing and an excellent student. And the girls he named are likewise.</p><p>They are just a tremendous bunch of kids that any parent would be proud of.</p><p>It&#8217;s just that when it comes to his old man, my son is such a rotten kid.</p><p>Presented with the opportunity to break my chops, he will seize it with a grip worthy of Darth Vader.</p><p>So my inquiry about the sleeping arrangements was an engraved invitation to have my remaining brown hair turn white.</p><p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; he says, a big grin breaking out, &#8220;we&#8217;re all going to sleep together. There will be sex. There will be so much sex, the house will be coming apart.&#8221;</p><p>My ever-so-helpful wife (not one to let a moment like this slip by) chimed in: &#8220;They will be humping like rabbits.&#8221;</p><p>Me: &#8220;I hate you both.&#8221;</p><p>My son: &#8220;Oh yeah, no worries. I&#8217;ll be coming home with two pregnant girls.&#8221;</p><p>My wife: &#8220;Just don&#8217;t come home with herpes.&#8221;</p><p>At this point, it was hard to hear anything because I had gone face-first, up to my ears, into my bowl of oatmeal.</p><p>Then, as he was preparing to leave and we were going through the checklist of things that he should make sure he had for his stay, he called out as he was walking down the stairs:</p><p>&#8220;Hey Dad, how many condoms do you think I should bring?!&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s when I went bald.</p><p>Rotten kid.</p><p>I cannot imagine where he gets it from.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Christopher Mele</p><p>Mele&#8217;s Musings</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>About Men Radio is a show about men. Not all men, mind you, but specifically about a group of lifelong friends coping with rapidly changing gender roles and how they interact with their partners, their kids, their co-workers and each other. It&#8217;s funny, feisty, smart-assed and very, very real. To learn more, go to <a href="http://aboutmenshow.com/" target="_blank">aboutmenshow.com</a>.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Christopher Mele is married and the proud dad of two sons and two adult stepchildren, all of whom have given him prematurely white hair. His childhood in the Bronx defined his friendships, which endure today and for which he is grateful. A career newsman, writer and editor, the Lords Valley resident is glad for the opportunity to share stories and insights about the challenges that the modern-day middle-aged guy faces in the world.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mele’s Musings: The unexpected boomerang effect of parenting