My son's spring break

Spaghetti and eggs

Spring Break 2010 hasn't been easy for my son.

Due to a little lapse in judgment regarding the placement of a classroom and his ability to tell time, my son acquired an "after-school" because of four recorded tardy slips by his teacher.

Although he doesn't have to stay after school for his school-sanctioned punishment until after the break, I felt it wasn't enough.

"You can't seem to find your way to class and waste a teacher's time, then you owe me one day for each tardy," I told my son as his face went ashen. "You owe me four days work."

Although my son didn't argue with my decision, a few of his friends were flabbergasted.

How could I possibly not be aware it was Spring Break?

Before anyone howls at the injustice of my punishment, I have already been informed "it's not a crime, everybody does it and no one cares" by several individuals who felt the need to play defense counsel for my son.

Needless to say, being the prosecutor, jury and judge in this mater, the sentence was carried out.

The punishment included a list of "life lessons and skills" that my son and I agreed needed some work on. He was assigned to do the following chores to "my standard," not his teenage version:

* Clean his room, the bathroom (including the toilet and shower) and the enclosed back porch/laundry room,

* Learn to properly work the washing machine and dryer so he could do the laundry,

* Use the carpet cleaner to clean the kitchen, hallway and pantry rugs

* Clean the porches,

* Clean and organize the mini-refrigerator in his room and the family refrigerator, and

* Help his grandfather clean the garage.

It's not that my son is a dirty person; apparently it's just not important to him. There always seems to be something else he would prefer to do.

Honestly, I figured I'd have to engage in verbal warfare about why he didn't finish a single item on the list.

To my delightful surprise, I arrived home on his first day of punishment to find my proud son taking me on a tour of his accomplishments.

He completed three tasks on the list and several I didn't ask him to do.

"After cleaning the bathroom, I figured the medicine cabinet needed it too," he smiled at me. "And I couldn't clean the pantry carpet without cleaning the pantry itself. Just didn't feel right to not do it."

There were a couple of "do overs" I asked him to do, like cleaning the base of the toilet and part of the carpet was too wet, but all in all, he did an incredible job.

"I didn't get the laundry done," he said, expecting me to growl at him. "My friends came over, so I visited for a while. I didn't want to ask them to help me. This is my life-lesson time. But I promise to finish it tomorrow."

I was extremely proud. He was learning what I hoped he would.

During the rest of his incarceration, my son continued to surprise me with his eagerness to take care and respect the family home.

I walked into the kitchen today to find him cooking breakfast, spaghetti and eggs with cheese.

"Just thought I'd do the dishes before I start my chores today," he smiled at me while drying a pot before putting it away. "Want some breakfast before you go to work?"

I can tell you, there's nothing better than eating breakfast made by your son.

Hopefully someone else will take advantage of this simple recipe and talk with their son or daughter before spring break is over.

Ingredients needed:

4 ounces spaghetti (or your favorite type of pasta)

4 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

1 tablespoon each minced red or green onion and garlic

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 cup of your favorite type of shredded cheese

Bacon bits and Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to for 8-10 minutes or until al dente and then drain. Place pasta in a large bowl and toss with two of the tablespoons of butter to keep it from sticking together.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet/pot melt butter over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic until translucent. Turn heat to low and add the pasta into the pot with two of the eggs, tossing with the dried spices until the pasta is completely covered. Pour into a serving bowl, sprinkling with the cheese.

Cook the remaining egg in the skillet until it looks like loose scrambled eggs, and then add to the spaghetti and toss.

Let everyone top their pasta with bacon bits and the Parmesan cheese.

NOTE: I like a little dollop of sour cream or fresh tomatoes on mine.