Two Broken Pickups at the Lake

When I got home from class tonight, the kids were not home yet.  Come to find out, both Shayne and Justin's pickups were both broken down at the lake.  So, Heath and I loaded up in his pickup with some supplies and headed back to the Lake in Bridgeport.  When I left the lake this morning, I asked the boys to make sure they picked up their camp before they left.  I was totally appalled when we got there and saw the lack of effort put forth by his friends to help clean up.  While Justin, Heath, and Shayne were working on the vehicles, I asked the rest of the people (just standing around) to simply help clean up their trash that they left all over their camp.  They all just looked at me and most of them went to sit on the picnic table down by the lake, totally ignoring me like I didn't even exist.  One of the friends did help a little.

I must pose the question:  where have good role models gone in today's society?  Where are these children's parents to help teach them basics of everyday living, respect, and integrity?

They got Justin's pickup running so Heath and I led the way while Justin and Andrew towed Shayne's pickup back to our house.  The light was slowly dimming as we were chugging along down the highway with our convoy of broken pieces.   Our long evening was coming to a close.

By default, we had two extra teenagers for dinner tonight since their mode of transportation had just been hauled back.  Right when we began to pray for our dinner, three more teenagers showed up and gathered around our table.   It worked out well that I had put on a Crockpot meal this morning!  Turns out they didn't want to eat, just wish Justin a Happy Birthday.  So, as soon as we finished eating and the boys began clearing their plates, the second round of kids sat down.  Two girls and a boy.  One of the girls had been gone all summer and wanted to catch up with me.  After we ate, I began cleaning up  the kitchen and all the kids went to hang out in the barn.

I am a planner and I have always been taught, out of respect, always call before you stop by someone's house.  With all these kids at the house, it makes me wonder if their parents even know where they are....