Rocking Mom
Dear Frankie,
My friend Lulu is an ace student. Every year she wins the school award for best writer.
Lulu also can be a big complainer. Whenever I see her, she’s complaining about her boss or boyfriend.
At first, I commiserated, and then I offered some advice. After a while, I realized it was a lost cause. Now I just listen.
Last week I was having a terrible time with an essay. I called Lulu and asked if she could help me.
Before she read to the middle of the first page, she said, “Put a comma here; this word is misspelled; indent the paragraphs.”
I explained that I needed help with the writing, not grammar.
She said If I told you what to write or even rewrote a sentence, that would be cheating. Then she left.
I was furious and couldn’t believe that she wasn’t willing to help me after all the time I had spent listening to her troubles.
I told my mom what Lulu said. She laughed and said, “helping someone with a writing assignment is not cheating. If that were the case, editors would be out of a job.
Then she said, “Who needs Lulu? With great minds like ours, we can snap this essay into place in no time.”
Casper
PS I got an A-. Isn’t my mom awesome?
Dear Casper,
It’s hard when a friend you think you can count on disappoints you. Lulu used cheating as an excuse not to help you.
Some friends are a one-way street. They are self-centered and don’t consider listening to someone complain as an act of friendship.
Lulu might even think her problems are so fascinating that you should consider yourself lucky to be worthy of her confidence. She probably has already complained to her boyfriend that you asked her to cheat.
Sometimes it takes a hard lesson to learn who your friends are. It’s now up to you to decide what kind of relationship you want or don’t want to have with Lu;u in the future.
Best, Frankie
© 2022 Geneva Woodruff
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