Sixty seconds can make a huge difference
Brayden is having a back-to-school slumber party tonight. Or perhaps since it is 1:37 am, I should say LAST night. Except the girls haven’t gone to bed yet, so technically its still tonight …. right?
Whatever.
I promised her I would take them TP’ing once it got late enough. They had a list of about seven houses (all classmates) they wanted to hit, so I decided to go to the farthest one first, then work our way back home. But because so many of the students at our school transfer in from other districts, it took us close to two hours to do all seven houses.
Anyway, the first house I had never been to ….. we arrived in what I hoped was the right neighborhood, in the next small town over, around 11 pm. I was driving around, looking for a house number, hoping Brayden would recognize the house, seeing as how she and three other carloads of kids had just TP’d the exact same house the night before …. I know, clearly we’ve all discovered the joy of middle school pranks, right?
After taking two wrong turns, we finally found the correct house. I wanted to be facing OUT of the addition when the girls were done, so I drove to the end of the block, flipped a u-ey, and turned off my head lights, driving slowly back to their target friend’s house. As I was inching past the house, all dark and secretive and stealth like (yes, now you know where Kellen gets it) ……….
THE GARAGE DOOR OPENED AND THE BOY’S FATHER DROVE IN FROM THE OTHER END OF THE STREET!
You should have heard the girls freaking out because “OMG Mrs. Escoe we almost got CAUGHT!!! What if you hadn’t gotten lost? We would have been TP’ing right at that exact moment and we would have been totes BUSTED!!!”
Hyperventilate::giggle::squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
It was actually pretty funny, and the fact my own blood pressure went up just a bit makes me think I must have been caught TP’ing a few times myself, in my younger days, and have simply blocked it from memory.
Ahhhhhhhh, good times.
21 Responses to Sixty seconds can make a huge difference
August 15th, 2010 saat: 1:51 AM
i can’t believe you were corrupting those impressionable little girls!!!!! you are such a renegade!
August 15th, 2010 saat: 2:47 AM
ah yes, I remember it well. I can’t remember to take my meds every day or what I had for lunch but I can remember middle school pranks…gah! sweet memories too~
August 15th, 2010 saat: 2:52 AM
You take your kid and other kids around to TP houses at night? Do you take them back the next day to clean it up? I just would not find this humorous at all, especially if it rained or there was heavy dew. Call me a fuddy duddy, but there must be a better way to entertain kids during a sleepover.
August 15th, 2010 saat: 8:54 AM
Oh I remember the days….only we did teachers houses…..LOL
August 15th, 2010 saat: 9:19 AM
Sixty seconds CAN make a huge difference just ask Jenna. Jenna will be so sad she missed it. I think she has recovered and I don’t think it was a contagious sickness–hopefully that is a relief to all who were there. You are such a cool mom!
August 15th, 2010 saat: 10:04 AM
What a cool mom! I used to love TPing houses. We used to “borrow” real estate signs too–remember the old ones that weren’t on wood posts? We would gather a bunch of signs and then stick them all in one person’s yard. Very entertaining at the time!
August 15th, 2010 saat: 11:46 AM
Sorry Kristie, I’m with Amelia on this one. I wouldn’t find it humorous, and I think taking the kids to do it just encourages more of the behavior. And it is behavior that could get more destructive over time. We teach our son to respect other people’s property whatever it may be.
I know TP is temporary, but it is pain for those recipients.
August 15th, 2010 saat: 1:39 PM
I remember in 8th grade, my friend’s grandfather drove us a good ten miles to TP the home of a local deejay. It was so fun for us.
As a parent now, personally, I prefer to be in the know and driving and know what the kids are doing, and you can get a good sense of things from listening to their conversations in the car with each other! Good job, Kristie, and I hope your hubby is feeling better.
August 15th, 2010 saat: 3:03 PM
Loved TPing as a highschooler. Only we did the boys that we had crushes on. Oh, memories!! And Amelia, usually you know ahead of time who would be truly ticked if it happened to them. Most people I know think it’s a fun thing, no harm done. And TP disintegrates quickly!!
August 15th, 2010 saat: 4:03 PM
Just want to say I agree with Laura on this one ….. I don’t allow anything messier than TP, chalk on the driveway, etc (I’ve heard of kids doing silly string and shaving cream, which are also temporary, but much more of a mess and I don’t let my own kids do it because I wouldn’t want those things done to us …. if you cross the line into eggs, paint, lotions, etc, then at that point I consider it vandalism — and I have explained that to the kids) and we also know the parents who think its in good fun. You do it knowing darn good and well it’ll probably be done to you in the future, and your own kids will get stuck cleaning it, too. If I ever found out we misjudged and did someone who was unhappy about it, I would of course make my child apologize and clean it up, but around here (and as far back as I can remember) its harmless and actually a bit of a compliment. No-one wastes their time or money TP’ing someone they don’t like. Kristie
August 15th, 2010 saat: 6:07 PM
I remember thinking it was cool if your house was the one that was TP’d. It was a compliment and the TP’ers would eventually be paid back……..with of course…….more TP! I was a straight A student and a good kid. I am now a 43 year old mother of two grown children and I don’t have a crimial record :-) I agree Kristie…..it is all in good fun, especially if the other parents are good sports as well and you aren’t being ugly or vindictive! I also seem to remember a slumber party at your house once upon a time where bras were watered down and frozen! Have you shared that with Brayden yet? hehehe
August 15th, 2010 saat: 6:26 PM
Man this bring back great memories!!! It was one of our favorite things to do at a sleepover and to my knowledge none of us turned into career criminals because of it lol Good job on letting the kids have some fun.
August 15th, 2010 saat: 8:24 PM
I agree with Kristie on this one. It’s harmless!
August 15th, 2010 saat: 9:41 PM
A few years back, I woke up, opened my drapes, and thought it had SNOWED at my house….and this was in May….in ALABAMA!! I found out from my oldest son that this was cool…and only the cool kids(and parents) had their yard “rolled”! When word got out, there was a line of cars to see the “Best.rolled.yard.EVER”! I admit it was a mess, but it’s only TP, not eggs or spray paint, like one house in the neighborhood got a few weeks later! I think it’s cool that your kids let you in on their fun!!
August 15th, 2010 saat: 10:18 PM
Ever forked a yard? :D
August 16th, 2010 saat: 2:45 AM
i too at first thought you were nuts until you said that other sleepover’s had done it. not that it is okay to do it because that is what everybody else is doing, but just that brayden’s group of friends/parents found it an acceptable form of entertainment. i agree too that you must be pretty cool that the girls had you take them to do it, i wouldn’t want them to be out and about alone. i hope you can find cheap tp!!!!
August 16th, 2010 saat: 7:34 AM
I’m kind of in the same boat, in my neighbourhood the families have all know each other for years (sometimes even generations)…so we all know who are game for the innocent pranks….I fondly remember junior high and TP’ing and can honestly say that I can at least remember my teen years, unlike those who spent them in a drunken haze :-)
August 16th, 2010 saat: 7:48 AM
Coolest mom EVER for taking her kids TPing! Another pretty harmless prank (that’s also good for a fundraiser, oddly enough), is Flamingo Flocking. We’d get about 50 or so of those yard flamingos, “flock” someone’s yard (usually a person with a big birthday or some other big event) and then to raise money, we’d gladly remove them for a small fee. If it wasn’t part of a fundraiser we’d just come back and remove them the next day.
August 16th, 2010 saat: 7:23 PM
You are a WAY TOO COOL Mom!
August 17th, 2010 saat: 8:45 PM
Awesome fun mom Kristie! Don’t get too caught up in the comments from the critics. I see the point they are trying to make but this was not like you put a bunch of girls in the back of your mini-van and chose random houses to TP. Your daughter will forever remember this fun-filled night.
August 19th, 2010 saat: 9:11 AM
Sorry that Savanna missed it! I think TP’ing is fun- and great that you are the one taking them. I agree with everything you said. Again, I am sorry that Savanna missed out on the fun, and so is she!
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