Not really. While I
like couscous, it’s not something you can build a post on.
Now RICE, on the other hand...
---
Thing 1 is about to graduate high school. His cap and gown hang in his closet,
brilliant blue and fresh, to be worn once and once only and put away until, most likely, it's forgotten and abandoned.
Senior portraits have been ordered and received and need to
be distributed to family as a reminder of this milestone and a quick capture of
the young man that he was and is – fresh-faced at just 17 years old, full of
future. One pose mimics a photo I still
have on my cube wall of him at 18 months old, looking up and to the right, his
gorgeous blond curls (at the time of his toddler-hood) replaced by a thick head
of brown hair, the same eyes, seeking. I
ordered those photos, even though they’re not the most ‘dudely’ of shots. I ordered some of him in casual pose, elbows
on jeaned knees, grin plastered on face, to up the dude factor and
counterbalance my tendency toward maudlinism.
We are going to a college open house this weekend. To be frank, there is little expectation of
him being admitted to this college because he was very late in applying and,
well, he’s not the world’s best student.
However, he wants to go and so I will take him and his buddy (who WAS
admitted and just wants to visit once more) down to the school early Saturday
morning to get a taste of college life and a peek into what that world is
like. Perhaps it will spur him on
through his first year of community college and the 24 credit hours he needs to
get under his belt in order to transfer into the UNC system of 17 campuses
(some of which are NC State, which is odd).
As we move through this next season of life, it is my most ardent hope that this boy finds his way, his
niche, his passion, his purpose. This
mother’s heart yearns on his behalf for a spark of a notion of an interest and
drive that will satisfy him and spur him on to a life well lived in
satisfaction and reward. Hell, I know he
can find this as a bagger at the Lowe’s Foods or a checker at the Home Depot or
as a plumber/mason/electrician/dog trainer and so college as such is not
strictly necessary, but he needs some seasoning, some LIFE, before a path is
identified and followed. I’m also aware
that that path can be abandoned for some other one, as I did multiple times through my young adulthood; the goal at this point is
just to PICK one and get on it. A little
push, a little shove, a little guidance to get him going, at last, is the goal
for this coming year.
I love that kid, am amazed at his generosity and kindness,
am hopeful for his future, and am determined to see that he succeeds. But first, I need to get to the point where
thinking of that cap and gown doesn’t nearly bring me to tears.
Tips for how to survive the next few months without embarrassing the crap out of him AND me are much appreciated.
Tiff out.
