Over the weekend I was presented with a situation I have not been in before that has me questioning my judgment.  My 13 year old son was at a birthday party for one of his classmates when he called me and told me that all the kids were sleeping over and could he.  Most of you are probably thinking, what is wrong with that?  Well it was a female classmate’s birthday party he was at and there would be a combination of 12 boys and girls sleeping over!

I had to think about this for a second.  Am I ready/Is it appropriate to have my 13 year old son sleeping over a girl’s house with a bunch of other kids?  Now if it was just him and the girl then my answer would definitely be no way!  But, since there were other kids sleeping over and they were good kids with good parents, I was leaning towards saying ok.

I did ask to speak to 1 of the parents to make sure this was ok and that they would actually be there.  The mom told me the boys were sleeping on the 3^rd floor with the Dad watching over and she would be on the 2^nd floor with the girls.  That did make me feel better until I remembered a few stints growing up at Natures Classroom where we were separated from the girls with chaperones and some of the boys still found their way up to partake in late night games with the girls.  But, I felt I could trust my son to behave.

I said OK and let him stay over.  I did think about my decision about 1000 times after, but again wanted to trust my son and know he would not let me down.  The hardest thing about being a parent so far has been accepting that he is growing up and is at an age now where he is becoming more and more independent and doesn’t need me as much (well, except for rides and money).  He has had some “girlfriends” that he spends time texting but not going anywhere with but as he gets closer to High School that will change.

So I am still wondering if I was a bad parent for letting him do this at 13.  Did I cave into “parent pressure” by following what the others had allowed their kids to do?  Everything worked out fine that night and there were no issues so that was a good thing.   He even came home smelling like a 13 year old boy (i.e. hadn’t showered in 48 hours) and had no trace of his Usher cologne on so that made me feel  better.

Has anyone had something like this happen to them with their kids?  Any advice?  I’m sure it is only a matter of time before he asks to do this again.

Now, when you think about it, everyone know that Ronald is a clown, the Hamburgler is a Hamburger and so on and so on, but Grimace?  After debating if he is a milkshake or some weird resemblance of a chicken nugget, it was decided that the mystery of who/what Grimace is, is unknown.

Now, I have done some research of this. 1st, if you go to the dictionary, this is what you will get for Grimace:

grimace (grms, gr-ms) n. A sharp contortion of the face expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust. intr.v. grimaced, grimacing, grimaces To make a sharp contortion of the face.

2nd, I spent some time on Google, and came up with a few theories.  I will cut and paste some of them here:

“When Grimace first emerged from his cave and confronted the other citizens of McDonaldland, he expected them to be frightened of him. He had four arms and was known as the evil Grimace who stole everybody’s milk shakes. The opposite turned out to be the case. No other character in McDonaldland is more beloved, especially by the children who visit McDonaldland from time to time. While initially conceived as a character representing McDonald’s shakes, Grimace has transcended his role and is now seen as Ronald’s closest friend. He still, though, retains his love of shakes.

Grimace personifies the child in everyone. He’s a big, fuzzy, purple fellow, and is Ronald’s right-hand man.

Everyone in McDonaldland loves Grimace because of his innocent, loving nature. He’s enthusiastic, eager and easily pleased. Grimace walks with a rolling gait, and can’t be classified as any particular kind of animal.

Grimace is generous and affectionate. He occasionally causes minor problems in McDonaldland because of his clumsiness and perpetual confusion. But, these problems are generously overlooked by his many friends.”

What the HELL is Grimace?According to the American Heritage Dictionary, 1996 edition, to “grimace” means, “a sharp contortion of the face, expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust.” McDonald’s own web site gives a brief insight into Grimace. They state, “Grimace is a big, loving, fuzzy purple fellow who is Ronald McDonald’s best friend. He’s sure Ronald is the world’s ultimate authority on everything. While Grimace loves all McDonald’s foods, he’s absolutely crazy about milkshakes. Grimace is very enthusiastic and eager to try new things. His joyous spirit helps everyone overlook the fact he’s a little slow and clumsy sometimes.” (Ok?)

A friend of mine remembers Grimace as an evil character, who used to steal milkshakes from everyone. Oh, good, another thief — between Hamburglar, the Fry guys, and Grimace, crime was running rampant in the ‘McHood. News flash: Maybe these characters weren’t exactly great role models for children? Or perhaps Ronald was hogging all the food from the others, forcing them into a Dickensian life of crime? Who can say…

After drinking too many milkshakes, most people probably would resemble Grimace. But where was he from? And what were his thoughts, dreams, and secrets? If he was evil, why did he change and what provoked the change? What was the catalyst for change from leading a life of crime to a benign, steroid-inflated pre-Barney lookalike?