Life has unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes the twists are exciting and new. However, sometimes the turns are sudden, sharp and painful. Over the last week, I have had a somewhat unexpected turn; A turn I was hoping to not to make, but events outside my control escalated and I made the necessary and proper turn. The ironic thing: If I could have been able to step back and seen the warning signs, the outcome may have been different.

Over the last week, I have moved my youngest son (17 years old) to his mom and step dad's home. It was a difficult decision, but he made the choice by his actions. I just followed thru and said "Enough". It was a difficult and painful week. I love the boy, 100% of the time, but I don't like him very much right now. He's not the son I raised. His behaviour is of a child I don't know. He can be the sweetest and funniest kid, but over the last year, he has been angry, defensive, obstinate, disrespectful and rebellious. I no longer will tolerate the "know it all" attitude...the arrogance, the disrespect for me and the household property.

There's no meeting him half way. He must follow the rules and behave in the way he knows is right and expected of him. I am no perfect parent, but I have been a good dad to him. In fact, maybe a little to good. I have trusted when I shouldn't have trusted. I have been far to lenient and have allowed little supervision when he needed it the most. I should have forced him to stay with his mom on the weekends when I worked, but I didn't force the issue. Therefore, he was left unsupervised and he took advantage of my trust in him. Over time, his behaviour has worstened and the disregard of my household rules and the disrespect for me has escalated.

My ex wife came over on Tuesday and we packed his room. Eight bags of trash accumulated after finishing the clean up. Since, I have begun tearing down the Wallpaper border. I will have to hire someone to patch the 4 holes he punched in the walls over this year. I will have to replace the bedroom door he kicked and put a hole all the way thru. Once the holes are repaired, room painted, carpets cleaned, I will turn the room into a guest room.

My son has been out of the house since Tuesday evening. I am amazed how quiet it is at home. My daughter, who is 20, is still living at home, but she uses the house as headquarters to pop in and out...to shower...sleep...eat....lol. She is very busy and active with friends...all the time. I seem to have all this extra time on my hands. I didn't realize how incapacitated I had become, wondering of his whereabouts and if he was behaving. I am still not quite sure what to do with myself. I am hoping that I will stop procrastinating and start working on some household projects such as painting the kitchen, hallway, bathrooms and 2 bedrooms...I have enough work to keep me busy for a while.

By no means have I given up my parental respsonsibilities. My responsilibity is to keep him in a safe and secure environment. Hence, He has been moved to his mom's home so he can have more supervision. My ex wife doesn't work and she and her husband are home on weekends. I work weekends and work evenings, when supervision was needed.

I do hope and pray that our relationship will heal over time. However, he has to choose to do the right thing. He is a smart and intelligent kid. He knows right from wrong. He has to make a decision to choose "right". I love him more than he will probably ever know.