<p>Ok, if you have delicate sensibilities, you may want to pass on this post. I can only tell this story because my screenname is vague plus my DS is never on CC. Let me preface this by saying, so far, we’ve been very fortunate. DS has dated some sweet girls, but nothing serious, no real concerns. That said, now they are launching, who knows what will happen over the next 4 years. To be frank, I do not want anyone calling me Mee Maw next summer, or any time soon! </p>
<p>In light of the comments I’ve heard about condoms not being available on campus, asked husband to get some to tuck into son’s supplies. He brings 2 boxes, I tell him to put them in our already over loaded cart. We both go get more items, I come back to the cart, husband is standling in the middle of the aisle, looking completely befudelled. I ask what’s wrong. He says, well, I put “those boxes” in what I thought was our cart, but there’s our cart, and now that cart is gone. All I can figure, some poor girl and her family got to the checkout and discovered 2 mystery boxes in their cart! So, if you were at Target last weekend, one of the hectic early move-in families and made an odd discovery, our bad! Yes, a new “life’s most embarassing moment”. Moral of the story, make sure your whole family knows which cart is yours!</p>
<p>Too funny! We used to do this as kids (put strange things in people’s carts), but never condoms (didn’t know what they were at age 12). BTW: “boxes” makes it sound like there were a lot. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>You sure a girl wheeled the cart away? I’m picturing a dude whose dad, upon eyeballing the merch in the cart, quietly puffed out his chest and thought proudly to himself, “Stud!” ;)</p>
<p>Actually we have no idea who’s cart it was. After we got over the shock, we were guessing who ended up with the unintended items. I told my husband, Alabama being in the bible belt, it was probably some girl from a deeply religious family, who seeing such a shocking item, will probably cart her home and not let her go to such a big school…all because he couldn’t find the right cart. As embarassing as the event was, it added a needed degree of levity to an exhausting and emotionally intense weekend. The great condom caper will now go down as family lore. My husband is absolutely brilliant, but everyday details…not so much.</p>
<p>Oh good lord fennotype…honestly, never even considered that q. All I know is that they were latex free, he has a big latex allergy. Re: specifics, crossing my fingers that dad and lad had that worked out.</p>
<p>OMG! Too funny!!! Even funnier if it ended up being in some poor widowed ladies cart and she checked out not realizing a thing and got home to put things away and discovered them. Oh dear!!! I am cracking up! </p>
<p>feeno, she did say she asked DAD to pick them out. What dad in his right mind is going to not select the, uhm, well how should I put this, the size he hopes his son inherited from him.<br>
Then again, you know why women are not good carpenters? ;)</p>
<p>I feel better now about our first big Parenting Fail w/ D1 gone off to college and just D2 being home. We forgot about her the other night! She had gotten a ride home from band registration while we all wrapped things up and went out for drinks and food. Her and the neighbor girl and a few others were going to practice in our culdesac for tryouts. DH got home before me. When I came in 15 min later he said that she was in bed asleep, had put the dogs up and sat the alarm. Okay. We got ready for bed and all and I thought I might just go upstairs and check on her as DH only noticed “her light was off”. Sure enough I go in her room and find an empty bed. HOLY CRAP! Where is she??? About 2 minutes later she walks in with us freaking out. They had gone to take the other friend home and she went along for the ride. Geez! She is going into her first year of high school so she does not drive. We forgot about her. Felt really bad after that. PARENTING FAIL!</p>
<p>Oh man TXNewCollegeMom, that is too funny. Yes, I have reminded hubby that while our load has been somewhat lightened by the launch of one son, must remember we still have one at home!</p>
<p>Ok…most do come one size fits all/most. After all, when they’re handed out as freebies, they’re not asking for measurements…and there are no fitting rooms.</p>
<p>Oh, this brings back memories! I won’t go into the details, (my room-mommies know) but I marched DH into Walgreens with me this time last year to make ‘the purchase’. Confronted with a carnival array of choices, I insisted he make the decision. Mortified, he mumbled something about needing to know ‘size’. After gaining control of myself, tears streaming, strangers gawking, I texted DS with the appropriate (inappropriate?) inquiry. After several minutes of no reply (he never did reply, smart boy) DH grabbed a box off the shelf and muttered “Doesn’t matter, no guy is going to admit to being a ‘small’ anyway!”</p>
<p>Gyno is more a medical matter so it doesn’t illicit the squicky reactions that discussion of the equally medical matter of sex does.</p>
<p>Idk, I think birth control is something best left to the guys themselves. I didn’t see the earlier discussion about the supposed scarcity of condoms on campus, but I know you can get them at Publix, any convenience stores, and most Bama Dining convenience outlets like Lakeside Market. Plus, the internet lowered the access barrier to most anything. Point is that guys can get condoms if they need them.</p>
<p>I think you can trust your sons to do what’s best form themselves once you’ve given them “the talk”.</p>
<p>All kidding and blushing in Target aisles aside, I think they all need to take this very seriously. Just over this summer, we have dear friends who’s freshman daughter gave birth to a son, just returned to school for her sophmore year, baby in tow. This girl was an extremely high achiever in high school (valedictorian of a large high school), in our church every Sunday, promise ring, lots of Texas-style abstinance only education. Another friend’s son & girlfriend got pregnant because the girl’s doctor told her she had some sort of a problem that would make it impossible for her to get pregnant…surprise, he was wrong, she got pregnant. This mother of a son would be happy if ALL of the kids had some sort of protection very easily available. We’ve told the boy over and over that if he doen’t take care of himself, he’s handing his future over to someone else, and that no method is 100%. We done our best to instill values of respect and responsibility in our boy, and dearly hope he remembers that, but the forces of biology and nature are extremely powerful. Again, we don’t want anyone calling us Mee Maw and Paw Paw anytime soon.</p>
<p>Feeno, I am the one who called the availability scarce, and that was in the context of the Midwest colleges I am familiar with, where if a sudden date came up, son #1 could have stopped in the common bathroom and grabbed a condom from a machine, rather than saying “I’ll be there in 20 minutes, after I make a quick run to Publix.”</p>
<p>Txdoula, you have inspired me. This weekend I am going to play condom fairy, dropping a box of condoms in every shopping cart I see.</p>
Roll Tide!</p>