"I can't do this anymore," Amanda cried on the way home. Jessie, her 13 year old son, was uncontrollable. She had no idea where he went or what time he was coming home.

"How did I mess up so horribly?"

"You didn't mess up dear," Susan countered. "He is just like his father. It is in his genes. I am not going to see another life wasted though. When we get home I need to show you something. It is something I have been thinking a lot about and something I have been doing hours and hours of research on...and I think it is our solution."

Jessie sat impatiently in the principal's office. He knew his chances were running out since his behavior record at school was anything but perfect. After just 3 months of school in the 9th grade, Jessie had been in 3 fights, had been caught ditching out after lunch a half dozen times and had complaints filed on him from the girls in the school for inappropriate behavior. He sat back and awaited the arrival of his mom and grandma. The thought of being expelled did not bother him much and, as a matter of fact, the promise of not having to attend school was thrilling! He knew his mom and grandma were at their wits end with him as well and hopefully they would give up on trying to change him and just let him be. No school...no supervision...just being able to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted...now that would be the life!

Amanda and Susan came storming into the principal’s office to find Jessie sitting there arms crossed with a smug look on his face. Amanda knew that office all too well. She had been there countless times over the last couple years and was almost numb to the fact that she was called in yet again. What did he do this time? Steal, start a fight, touch a girl inappropriately or make a rude comment? The possibilities were endless! Jessie was on the same fast track as his father and at this rate he was going to end up in jail or dead...those were the options. His father was spending the last 5 years of his 15 years sentence for burglary and aggravated assault. Although Jessie only saw his father once a month, his father's influence transcended the prison walls and directly affected his life. Being a trouble maker was "cool".

Amanda tuned out as the principal rattled on about how Jessie was picking on a girl and how that girl's boyfriend intervened to top him.Consequently, the boyfriend ended up feeling the blunt of Jessie's anger and was sent to the nurse's office with a broken nose and bloody lip. She had given up hope. Perhaps Jessie was a lost cause. How did she fail as a mom? The stress his actions caused in her life were overwhelming and she could not take another day.

Susan, on the other hand, had seen this all dozens of years before when she was being called into the principal's office when Jessie's dad was his age. She knew all too well the road that laid ahead for him. Pretty soon it would be the police department...the courtroom...the guilty verdicts. Susan knew as Jessie's grandma that something had to be done. She was not going
to sit back again and hope for the best...there had to be some kind of intervention!

The principal suspended Jessie for 1 week with a final warning that one more...just one more incident will mean expulsion. No more chances! Jessie shuffled out of the office with a skip in his step. No one was going to control him! He was his own man and everyone else could go to hell. "Later dudes!" Jessie proclaimed as he disappeared into the hallways and out of the school.

"I can't do this anymore," Amanda cried on the way home. Jessie, her 13 year old son, was uncontrollable. She had no idea where he went or what time he was coming home.

"How did I mess up so horribly?"

"You didn't mess up dear," Susan countered. "He is just like his father. It is in his genes. I am not going to see another life wasted though. When we get home I need to show you something. It is something I have been thinking a lot about and something I have been doing hours and hours of research on...and I think it is our solution."

"I am ready for anything mom...anything," Amanda exhaustedly replied.

"That's ridiculous! It's the craziest, dumbest thing I have ever heard of!"Amanda shouted.

Susan's idea it turned out was extreme to say the least. She had been consulting an experimental program introduced to soften troublesome males. It ranged from lowering testosterone levels to mellow them in mild cases to complete feminization of body and mind in "lost causes". According to the consultation and scores Susan received for Jessie, he was off the charts and would require "complete feminization" to function as a worthwhile member of society.

"Amanda dear, you said it yourself that Jessie is a lost cause. It is 6pm and he has not come home yet. He could be dead or in jail for all we know. Extreme situations require extreme measures. Would you rather have a son who is in jail by the time he is out of high school? A son who has no respect or love for his mom or anyone else? A son who has no future? Or would you rather have a daughter who functions as a successful member of society? Give it some time dear...think about this one."

Amanda was taken aback by all this new information. Her son becoming a girl? The thought was absurd...but what options did she have? She had already tried counseling, punishment, threats...nothing worked. Just then Jessie came storming into the house with a new skateboard in his hand.

"Where did you get that skateboard?" Amanda asked.

"That's none of your business mom! Why do women have to be so damn nosey? I'm going up to my room."

The lack of respect, the theft, the grim future...there were no options. No options save one...could it possibly work? What could the family lose?

"Susan, I have made up my mind."