THE MIXED-UP BOY
by Cyndi Purtee
There once was a little boy, who had a happy family. Except the boy didn’t know it because he was mixed-up. His family didn’t look like other families that he saw, So he thought that his family must not be a good one and he decided he wanted a better one. He was very mixed-up.
His family was all different colors. Other families he saw weren’t like that. His family was made up of mostly girls and his Daddy stayed home & took care of kids. Other families didn’t do that. Other families looked better to the boy. His family seemed yucky and weird.
The boy’s family did things together - like go to Tae Kwon Do and eat at the table. He heard that other families didn’t do that. He knew that other families sometimes never ate together. His Daddy put in ‘secret ingredients’ in the dinner and the kids liked to guess what it was. Other kids thought that was weird because they didn’t talk about food at their table. They didn’t have to use manners either. The Mixed-Up Boy thought that it would be nice to stop using manners and talking about food. He’d like to eat in front of the TV, but his family was too mean to let him do that and besides their mean mom had even turned off the satellite so that they couldn’t even watch TV!!!! He knew he could do better if he just got another family.
The Mixed-up boy had other problems too. Because he was mixed-up, he didn’t always know when someone was telling him the truth. He didn’t know ‘what happens next’ when you made decisions - sometimes he just did things without thinking what would happen next. Lots of times he was surprised by the “what happened next”. Most of the time, he didn’t like the ‘what happened next’ part. It seemed that he didn’t always try to be gentle when playing with other kids either - especially when he got mad, which happened to be almost every time he didn’t get his way. The Mixed-up Boy was bossy too and most kids didn‘t like that in a friend, so he didn‘t have many friends.
The Mixed-Up boy knew that sometimes he got in trouble, but he really knew that the real reason for the trouble was his mean old parents!!! If only he didn’t have horrible, mean parents, he would be happy. He would yell this to his parents all the time. The Mixed-Up Boy’s parents didn’t really like being yelled at by their angry son so they’d send him to his room. They’d check on him and ask, “Are you ready to join the family now?” and sometimes he would be and sometimes he’d try to kill them with his eyes and they’d say, “Oh I see…. You need more time to be alone. OK.” and they’d go back downstairs to hang out with the family. Sometimes this left the Mixed-Up Boy feeling even more mad and sometimes the Mixed-Up Boy realized that it was more fun to be in the family and so he’d let go of being mad and get to come and join the family. Sometimes he thought that his family was kinda neat and fun. Other times he thought it was horrible. He had horrible mean ugly sisters that were mean and horrible to him. He’d think about this when he’d put their toothbrushes in the toilet because he knew that they deserved it. When his Mom and Dad found out about the toothbrushes, he got in trouble and knew that his Mom and Dad hated him. He was so Mixed-Up.
His Mom and Dad said that they loved him and wanted him to be happy. They said that they wanted more than anything in the world for the Mixed-Up Boy to be successful in life and to get to pick who and what he wanted to be when he grew up. They wanted him to have friends and get to go on sleep-overs and to summer camp and all kinds of cool things. But the Mixed-Up Boy didn’t believe them. He knew that if they really wanted him to be happy, then they’d give him back to the parents he used to have. He remembered being little and having wonderful fabulous parents called TimandCathy.
TimandCathy were wonderful. They had pretty birds flying around them all the time. They lived in a magical castle in an enchanted forest. TimandCathy loved the Mixed-Up Boy and he would still be with them if his parents hadn’t kidnapped him from them. This is why he didn’t like his parents because he knew that if he was bad enough they’d give up on him and let him go back to live with TimandCathy or an even better family.
The Mixed-Up Boy went to therapy where he was told that he wasn’t kidnapped from TimandCathy but since he didn’t believe his parents, he knew that they were lying to him. Even though he couldn’t really explain when he’d caught them lying to him before, he knew in his heart that they must be because he knew that he was too good for this family. This family was weird and yucky and made up of mostly girls - even most of the pets were girls!!!! TimandCathy had boy pets.
One day at school, the Mixed-Up Boy heard about something called CPS. He heard that CPS rescues kids that have mean and yucky parents. He knew that this is what he needed. If CPS rescued him, then maybe he could be given back to TimandCathy or he’d be given to a better family - one with boys instead of girls. So the Mixed-Up Boy started trying to get his teachers to notice that he needed to be rescued by CPS.
The Mixed-Up Boy started screaming real loud in parking lots so that his Mommy or Daddy would have to grab him to make him stop. He complained to his teacher that his Mommy kept him up all night so he couldn’t do his homework and his Daddy kicked him in the back. He cried when he got to school so the teacher would know that it was really, really awful and he needed to be rescued. One day he told the new teachers that he was locked in his room forever and was never ever let out. The teacher thought that it was horrible and called CPS to rescue the Mixed-Up Boy. Too bad the teacher didn’t know that the boy was mixed-up or she might have asked the parents about it first.
Because the Mixed-Up Boy was so sweet and charming and cute, the teacher felt sorry for him and worried that his mean old yucky parents would hurt him again. The Mixed-Up Boy loved that and after a CPS lady came to his school to talk to him and take his picture, he couldn’t wait to get home and tell his mean old yucky Daddy that he was in trouble and the Mixed-Up Boy was going to get a new family. He was very happy.
When he got home, he bragged to his Daddy that a lady from CPS came to see him and take his picture and asked him a lot of questions. The Daddy already knew about it because the same lady had gone to see Mixed-Up Boy’s oldest sister too at her school. Only the oldest sister was not happy. She felt awful and cried on the phone to the Daddy. She was afraid that CPS would hurt the family that she loved. She was right.
The CPS lady then came to the Mixed-Up Boy’s house. He was so excited because she was talking to the sisters and to the Daddy. When the Mommy came home from work, she was talked to as well. The Mixed-Up Boy got to watch a movie on TV with the girls. They got to eat TV dinners together at the table. He was happy to get the fried chicken meal. He liked the fried chicken meal. Mommy and Daddy didn’t eat that night. The Mixed-Up Boy didn’t notice because it was too much fun watching the movie and wondering what his new family would be like and would it be TimandCathy.
The CPS lady kept going outside then coming back into the house. The last time, she came back in with policemen. The girls were scared, the parents were sad, and the Mixed-Up Boy started wondering if maybe he had made a mistake. They announced that the boy was being taken away because the Mommy and Daddy were horrible and mean to the boy, but not the girls. The Mixed-Up Boy was happy that Mommy and Daddy were in trouble but he was sad to leave the girls. The girls were crying and this made the boy sad. They all hugged in front of the door and the Mixed-Up Boy got to ride in the CPS lady’s car. He waved at his family as they drove off.
The Mixed-Up Boy rode buckled in the back seat of the CPS lady’s car. It was late at night and he was tired but he was excited about getting a new family. He asked the CPS lady what his new room at his new family’s house would look like. She said that he’d see it pretty soon but first they had to go to her office.
At the office, he met the CPS lady’s boss, a supervisor. She asked the Mixed-Up Boy how we was doing and he said OK. He asked her if his new parents would be nice and would he have his own room at his new family’s house. She said that his new family would be very nice. She thought that his family must have been very mean and horrible if this poor little boy was asking about having a new family. She was very sad for the Mixed-Up Boy and told him that everything would be better now and that he’d really like his new family. She didn’t know that the Mixed-Up Boy didn’t always tell the truth or that he had tried to get his Mommy and Daddy in trouble. She didn’t know he was a Mixed-Up Boy.
The Mixed-Up Boy went to a new family that night. It was a foster family. Two other boys were also staying at the foster family’s house. The Mixed-Up Boy was happy to see only boys except the foster mom. Even their pets were boys. This made the Mixed-Up Boy smile to himself. He thought, “Daddy should see this. Almost all boys.” Thinking of his Daddy made him sad. The foster mom and dad told him that they would take care of him and that he was safe now. No one was going to hurt him anymore. He knew that no one had hurt him at his house either, but he was too scared to tell anyone that he had lied. He was very mixed-up.
The next day, the Mixed-Up Boy woke up in a strange bed. At first he forgot about being in a new family but then his room was different and he remembered that the CPS lady and the policemen had come to the house and took him away. He smiled that he had finally gotten a new family. But then he started to cry because he missed his Mommy and Daddy. He was hungry, but he didn’t know where anything was in this house. It smelled funny and he missed his sisters. The Mixed-Up Boy was sad.
That day, his foster mom and foster dad took the Mixed-Up Boy to the doctor to get checked out. The doctor’s office was very close to his house and his real family. He thought that were going to take him back home so he got very excited to see his family. When they didn’t take him home and took him to the doctor instead, he got really really really mad. The Mixed-Up Boy yelled and screamed. He jumped on and off the furniture. He called the foster mom and the CPS lady names. He even called the doctor an “Old Lady”. The Mixed-Up Boy thought that if he were mean to them it would make him feel better or maybe they would take him back home. It didn’t do either. The doctor gave the foster mom medicine to give to the Mixed-Up Boy. She said that it might calm him down. The foster dad took the Mixed-Up Boy out to the car because he was being too loud. The Mixed-Up Boy wanted to run away but he couldn’t. He felt awful.
After the doctor’s office, the Mixed-Up Boy was taken to a new school. They put him in a new class with lots of kids. The new school didn’t have a dress code. This made the Mixed-Up Boy very happy because his old school had a dress code so you couldn’t wear your favorite shirt or your favorite shorts. At this new school, he could wear almost anything he wanted. He was wearing a cool t-shirt and shorts. He was scared of all the new kids and the new teacher, but everyone smiled at him and he didn’t want them to know that he was scared so he smiled back. They liked that and he thought that they all liked him. At his old school, he couldn’t go to his regular class unless he earned it by having good behavior. They didn’t know about that at his new school and he was in a regular class. He told himself that being in a new family was better than his old family. His old family was stupid and his Mommy and Daddy wanted him to be in a yucky special class. That proved that they were mean and horrible. When he got home from school, he wanted to call his Mommy and Daddy and tell them that his new school was fun and that he was in a regular class, but the foster mom told him that he couldn’t use the phone. That made him sad and he went to his foster brother’s room and secretly broke his brand new flashlight.
The Mixed-Up Boy cried that night because he missed his family. The foster mom sang to him and told him that it was OK. He got to watch TV. His Mommy and Daddy would never let the Mixed-Up Boy watch the programs that he was watching with his foster family. This made the Mixed-Up Boy feel happy because he knew that if he had a new family it would be better than his old family. He also thought that if his Mommy and Daddy knew what they were letting him watch on TV, his Mommy and Daddy would be mad. The Mixed-Up Boy smiled to himself when he thought about how mad Mommy and Daddy must be.
The next day, the Mixed-Up Boy went to school again and he did what he wanted. The teachers were very nice to him and he thought that they were stupid. He tested them to see if they’d stop him when he did things without thinking. Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn’t. Since he was new to the school, the teachers just told him to think about what he was doing. He always said, ”Yes, Ma’am”. Then he’d accidentally break someone’s pen on purpose and tell the teacher that he didn‘t mean to do it when he did. The Mixed-Up Boy was so mixed-up. He finally got his new family and his new school but he wasn’t happy. He didn’t get to go to TimandCathy’s house either.
The Mixed-Up Boy’s foster brothers were mean to him. Jackson would come into his room at night and hit him. Jackson hit his brother Mark too. Jackson told them that if they tattled on him, he’d hit them harder next time. One night, Jackson scared the Mixed-Up Boy so bad that he didn’t care if Jackson would hit harder. He had to tell. The Mixed-Up Boy tattled on Jackson but Jackson lied and said he didn’t do it and he also said that the Mixed-Up Boy was coming into his room and bothering him! The Mixed-Up Boy couldn’t believe it!!!! How could Jackson lie like that? The foster mom and the foster dad didn’t know who to believe so they didn’t do anything to stop Jackson. Soon the Mixed-Up Boy couldn’t sleep at night. He was very scared and sad. He missed his family. He thought about his Mommy and Daddy and how he felt safe in his own bed at home. His Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t let Jackson hit him when he slept at night. He asked to call his Mommy and Daddy again, but the foster mom said “No“. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t call his Mommy and Daddy. He felt very sad and very scared and very mad. He told his foster mom and foster dad that he was going to run away. Jackson said if he did, he would beat him up. The Mixed-Up Boy didn’t run away.
After a few days the Mixed-Up Boy got used to staying at his new foster family’s house. He liked being able to go outside and play ball with his foster brothers, even if Jackson was mean to him. He learned that he could be mean to Jackson back and he wouldn’t get in trouble. He was taking his new medicine and it made it so that he didn’t want to eat anymore. His foster mom and foster dad said that it was OK if he didn’t eat his vegetables and it was OK if he only ate ketchup. The Mixed-Up Boy thought this was very cool and wished his sisters could see him not having to eat vegetables. He asked his foster mom if there was a secret ingredient in the dinner. She didn’t know what he was talking about and he said, “never mind”. The Mixed-Up Boy was really good at guessing the secret ingredient and he missed being the one to guess it when his Daddy cooked. He wondered if his Daddy still put in a secret ingredient even if the Mixed-Up Boy wasn’t home. This made the Mixed-Up Boy sad again. He lost his appetite and quit eating. He was very mixed-up.
Time went on and the Mixed-Up Boy stayed at his foster family’s house. His foster mom and foster dad were very nice. He was getting used to their rules and he learned where they kept stuff in the house. Most of the time he got to play outside with Jackson and Mark. At school, he got in trouble and was moved into a little class with only two students in it; the Mixed-Up Boy and a cute little girl. She was very cute and he wanted her to like him, so he behaved in his new class. The Mixed-Up Boy thought that if he behaved, she would like him, so he behaved pretty good in his new class. The CPS lady heard about the Mixed-Up Boy’s good behavior and knew that it was because he didn’t have to live with his mean and horrible family any more. She was very proud that she had helped this Mixed-Up Boy. She knew that he was going to be much better now.
The Mixed-Up Boy didn’t know it, but his Mommy and Daddy and sisters were fighting very hard to get the Mixed-Up Boy back home. They were showing everyone how much they loved the Mixed-Up Boy and they were having to tell them how the Mixed-Up Boy really was mixed-up about things. They had to tell people that the Mixed-Up Boy lied sometimes. They had to tell people that the Mixed-Up Boy was sometimes mean. They had to tell people that the Mixed-Up Boy needed them and they needed him. They told people that the Mixed-Up Boy was their son and he needed to come home where he was loved and where he was understood. His Daddy told people that his son was the best at guessing the secret ingredient.
The Mixed-Up Boy was really very loved. He just didn’t know it. All the time that he was wishing for a family to love, his own family was there loving him. All the time, he was wishing he had friends, his family had lots of friends that loved the Mixed-Up Boy. The family’s friends were very sad and angry that the CPS lady took away the Mixed-Up Boy. They said that things were very mixed-up and she had it all wrong. They wrote letters to the CPS lady and said nice things about the family and about how much the Mixed-Up Boy was loved and about how he was mixed-up. The CPS lady became mixed-up too.
Finally, the CPS lady and lots of people got together to talk about the Mixed-Up Boy and his family. They were very mixed-up about what to do. Was the Mixed-Up Boy’s family really nice and loving? Was the Mixed-Up Boy really mixed-up? Or was the Mixed-Up Boy telling the truth when he told the CPS lady that he was locked in his room all the time? The Mixed-Up Boy had to go to more doctors. They talked to him and talked to his Mommy and looked at papers that told about the Mixed-Up Boy when he was younger. The doctors said that the Mixed-Up Boy was mixed-up and that his family was the best place for him to be because his Mommy and Daddy and his sisters loved him very much and that nobody, but nobody, could take as good of care of this very Mixed-Up Boy than his own Mommy and Daddy.
The Mixed-Up Boy was taken back home to his own house with his own family and his own bed and his own pets and his own clothes. The Mixed-Up Boy was very happy to be home. But while he lived at his foster family’s house, he had started loving them too. Now he missed his foster mom and his foster dad. He was really mixed-up again.
At bedtime, he cried for his foster mom. His Mommy said that what happens when you love people is that they can’t all live in the same house, so sometimes it feels like we miss somebody almost all the time. She said that we hold them in our hearts and pray for them and send them loving thoughts and it would be OK. The Mixed-Up Boy prayed for his foster mom and foster dad and he sent them loving thoughts and the next day, he didn’t miss them so much. Instead his Daddy made breakfast with a secret ingredient. The Mixed-Up Boy guessed it right away. It was cheese in his scrambled eggs. He felt that he loved his Daddy very much. Then he remembered that he missed his foster mom and foster dad and he felt guilty for loving his Daddy. So he accidentally dropped the scrambled eggs on his lap. He pretended that they burned him and he yelled really loud that Daddy made his eggs too hot and it was all his fault. The Mixed-Up Boy ran upstairs and cried. He was mad and sad and happy all at the same time. He was very mixed-up.
Mommy and Daddy followed the Mixed-Up Boy up to his room. They gave him a big hug and scooped him up on his Mommy’s lap with his Daddy sitting beside his Mommy. This only made the Mixed-Up Boy even more mad and more sad and more happy all at the same time!!! When his Mommy and Daddy told him they loved him, he yelled, “YOU’RE NOT MY REAL PARENTS!!!!! I WASN’T BORN TO YOU!!!!!”
The Mixed-Up Boy’s Mommy and Daddy became very quiet. They said, “We are your real parents. No, you weren’t born to us. So what? We love you just the same.” So what? So What? “SO WHAT???” The Mixed-Up Boy couldn’t believe that they would lie to them. He knew that they couldn’t be telling the truth because Jackson had told him that they weren’t his real parents. The Mixed-Up Boy screamed. He screamed right into his Mommy’s ear because he wanted to hurt her. His Daddy scooped the Mixed-Up Boy onto his lap. “Why do you say this to us? You never cared before that you weren‘t born to us. We love you very much and we didn’t stop loving you when you were taken away by the CPS lady. Remember I told you that I was going to fight to get you back home again? We did. We fought for you to come home and we never stopped fighting to get you home. We love you very, very, very, very much.”
The Mixed-Up Boy was still mad even though he liked hearing all the “verys” in “We love you very much.” He said, “Real parents only love the kids who are born to them.” His Mommy got mad back, “That’s not true! Who told you that? We love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, to infinity and beyond, much!” The Mixed-Up Boy knew that if Mommy was getting mad and she said that many “verys“ plus “infinity and beyond“ she must really love him. He knew that she had to be telling the truth. That meant that Jackson had lied to him. This made the Mixed-Up Boy mad at Jackson for lying but also mad at himself for believing Jackson. Maybe his mean old yucky parents weren’t so mean or yucky. Maybe they were right when they told him that he couldn’t believe other boys that got in trouble all the time. Maybe they did love him. Maybe his family was pretty cool after all. Suddenly the Mixed-Up Boy saw everything very clearly. His heart felt full of love and he was happy. He hugged his Daddy and he hugged his Mommy. Then he yelled, “Group Hug!” and all three of them hugged a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really long time. “Group Hug!” his Mommy and Daddy yelled. The Mixed-Up Boy laughed. He felt very loved. He knew that these were his real parents. If only he weren’t so mixed-up about other stuff.
