Expect a drop in teenage pregnancies...

...at least in the north Boston suburbs.

I took the boys out for bagels for lunch. By myself. That doesn't sound like that big a deal. All of you who know me know that I'll bring my boys pretty much anywhere, at least once. They're pretty well behaved for the most part, so I'm really lucky that I have a reasonable amount of freedom in where we can go.

I had no worries about going to the bagel store. We've gone there many times. Usually on a weekend with TK, but a few times by ourselves.

We got to the bagel store, and I don't know if it was because it was right at the beginning of summer vacation, or if I just showed up at the wrong time, but the bagel store was PACKED with high school students from one of the local high schools. The line to buy bagels was out the door.

Again, I wasn't worried. The boys do fine waiting in line and we were kind of early for their lunch anyway so I wasn't worried about them being too hungry while we waited.

These bagels are really good. I thought I better clarify that point right away so you wouldn't all be thinking: "Why didn't she just leave?" Okay, back to the story.

So we're waiting in line. High school kids to the front of us, high school kids to the back. I was stuck in the middle with twins.

Who were a bit crazy.

They were in a good mood. Which was nice. But, if there is such a thing, they were in TOO good a mood. They were practically hyper, which anyone who knows my laid-back boys knows that isn't something I normally have to worry about. And certainly not both of them hyper at the same time!

They were running around in different directions. They were trying to open doors, trying to run behind the counter, climbing on chairs (at other people's tables), grabbing other girls mistakenly thinking these young women, who I'm sure just *loved* being confused for a 30-something-year old mom, were me. They were running in different directions. And they were totally ignoring me, in such a good-natured happy way that it was hard to get too mad at them.

I looked harried. The recent lack of sleep is taking a toll. I had no makeup on (a common occurrence, but I probably could have used some that day). I clearly couldn't control my children. I was alternating between trying to be stern and cracking up at how nutty they were. I must have seemed like an insane person. I was a spectacle. Everyone was staring at me, and I'm not just being paranoid. They were talking about us...really, I heard them.

Things didn't improve once we finally got our bagels. The boys kept getting out of their seats, running around, trying to eat food off the floor, both wanting to sit on my lap at the same time, begging for things to throw in the garbage can. You know, basically being three year old twins with a lot of energy.

Thankfully they weren't tantrumming. Things could have been far, far worse. But I think I gave all those high school students a good view of how much work children can be. I was a walking advertisement for the benefits of abstinence, or at least birth control, for high school kids.

So nine or ten months from now, if you hear a local high school bragging about how they've managed to drastically reduce teen pregnancy rates, you'll know the truth. It wasn't anything they did, it was just the view I gave them of how nutty life with preschoolers can be.

Random related thought: I had a great time that day, even though *I* needed a nap once we got home. Of course, the boys wouldn't agree to that so I powered through the rest of the day. Maybe the energy of an 18-year-old would have been handy. Oh dear, did I just encourage teen pregnancy?