This was an interesting weekend at the Philosopher's home.
Milestones were crossed as my eldest, my Ladybug, turned eighteen and I became officially a parent of an adult child. She also performed in her final highschool play. I got a little teary-eyed when she came out for her final curtain call, realizing that any other plays I may see her in will require travel and overnight stays. Even my youngest said this morning that he is going to miss watching her perform. He does adore his big sister.
Her birthday celebration was low-key though - just dinner with the four of us last night at a neighborhood pub. Consumed were three cheeseburgers and one plate of hot wings. The Philosopher is predictable, whenever possible, I have hot wings. Oh and a salad!
My middle child, the Rockstar, finally understood the concept of doing his fair share of work around the house and did a bang-up job on the yard: mowing, trimming, weed-eating. It was rewarding to see him respond positively to my ever-so-slight nudging. Ahh, the sweet feeling of parental progress.
I spent Saturday afternoon running errands for my elderly grandfather. He is in a nursing home. He will be 97 next month. I am the only family member in town so it falls to me to take care of his business. I brought my youngest, the Sage, along on the errands. We rode with the top down on the convertible enjoying the sunshine on our faces. I did my best to keep a smile on my face even though my heart ached missing my Fox.
Saturday night, Ladybug had one last performance to give and a cast party to attend. Rockstar spent the night at a friend's house and the Sage and I watched the Law & Order marathon for a bit and then an "apocalyptic movie" (Sage's description) on Netflix while I played a little Words With Friends (winning and losing equally).
During the Law & Order marathon, an infomercial for http://www.tummytuckbelt.com/ came on and the Sage practically ran for the phone so I could order it. He was sold on it. He said "I know you've been doing Zumba mom and you are getting smaller but you're kinda not going anywhere either. You should buy this." As the infomercial waned on and the timer in the corner of the screen ticked down, he was getting really concerned I would miss out on this opportunity. I thanked him for his concern about my stomach. But as I tried to explain how advertising works, he simply wasn't interested. The only way I could get him to relax was to tell him that I'm sure I can visit the web site at any time to order. I was not going to miss out. Sunday morning came and the Sage's first question was "So did you buy the tummy tuck?" I just laughed and told him "not yet, not yet."
I am not offended by his eagerness to help me. He has heard me complain of my c-section belly for his entire life. He sees me exercise daily and watch what I eat and has seen me lose 40 pounds over the last few years. He is simply trying to support my efforts. I suppose I need to work with him on finessing his persuasive argument skills though. (And for the record, although I have not bought one of those belts, I am intrigued...)
The really difficult moment this weekend came when I, singlehandedly, crushed Ladybug's dreams of attending college in her favorite city, Chicago. I tried to explain that accumulating $100K+ in student loans to fund the difference in what the university was offering her in financial aid and what the costs were to actually attend it, was short-sighted, financially irresponsible and not worth it. I stuck to my decision and to say that she was not happy with it would be an understatement. There were tears, raised voices, exclamations that "I just didn't understand how she will die if she is not in Chicago." It was not the sort of conversation you envision yourself having when you are first gazing down at your child's sleeping newborn face and you are filled with all those warm fuzzies that come with being a new parent. Nope at that point in time all you think you will talk about are butterflies, rainbows and chocolate ice cream. It sucks to crush dreams. Sometimes though, parental progress equals extremely uncomfortable and difficult feelings. But you do what you have to do.
However, it's a new week. Rain everyday. I've got a lot to keep myself busy: a few projects at work, grandpa's business, and my writing (more than just blogging). Woven throughout it though will be continuing to work on healing, loving & missing my Fox and asking the universe to continue to take care of us, all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment