The Follies of Love and Mistakes of Others – A Lesson for Teens

Go into love with your eyes open. Love doesn’t have to be blind. It shouldn’t be blind.

As Vampires we can be pretty unsentimental and harsh when it comes to life and emotions. At the same time, because we are complex creatures, we’re also romantics. Don’t be confused – I bet you know a lot of people like that.

I have four brothers. Over the years I’ve watched them succeed in almost everything they do, but I’ve seen three of them fail at love, time and again. Not as bad as some of my human friends, but it baffles me how they can be so stupid. Then again, I look at some of my choices when I was younger and think the same thing.

Which brings us to our teens…

PLEASE learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others and relay those mistakes as cautionary tales to your kids.

Don’t tell me that they have to learn and make their own choices…yes they DO have to learn and WILL make choices, but wouldn’t you like those to be wise choices with their eyes open and not stupid choices that could ruin their lives?

After Thanksgiving my family members and I went for a night walk by the lake. In front of us was my brother Max and his new girlfriend Roxanna.

“She is like something out of one of those horrible old Doris Day movies.” said my 19 year old niece Lauren. “No self respecting Vampire woman should be like that.”

Roxanna is a bit old fashioned. She is almost 19th Century in some of her attitudes. But there is my brother, my brother the rescuer about to ruin his life with someone who insists she needs a man to take care of her. This is pathetic enough with regular humans but even more pathetic in Vampires.

In her defense she spend almost 40 years with a man who kept her under his thumb, guiding her every move. She did exactly what he wanted. She believed exactly what he wanted her to believe. She was his pet, his slave, his helper, his door mat. So when she found herself on her own she needed someone else to tell her what to do, think for her and keep her.

In comes my brother, the rescuer. Sometimes it is a noble effort, but he shouldn’t do it when his own heart is concerned.

Yes, she is beautiful, but she plays games. She doles out sex like a reward (I suspect she does) for good behavior. She is clueless on basics of modern society, pop culture, every day life.  She is so needy. Every little thing baffles her.

From what I understand, she goes from man to man to man, squinting in the light, expecting them to keep her in the dark both literally and figuratively.

I looked at my two teens and Laruen and said “Don’t get involved with anyone like Roxanna. If you do I’ll I will guarantee you’ll ruin your lives.”

On the surface Roxanna is a lovely beautiful woman. Keep her around for a while and you’ll find someone who is helpless and broken. She would be a burden to Max.

I watch him take her hand and kiss it under the moonlight. She smiles and acts coy. I gag.

I know it just sounds like gossip, but it’s ok for our kids to learn from the mistakes of adults or their potential mistakes.

Yes, I’d planned or more details and whatever on this but I guess it all comes down to common sense and my usual mantra of “TALK TO YOUR KIDS, talk to your kids, talk to your kids.” Not at them but with them.

And I just need to tell my brother to pull his head out of his…whatever. He never listens to me anyway.

~ Juliette