Many things recently have made me realize I’m getting older, though some of them aren’t so bad. I am still smarting from fall on the ice rink at Wrigley. That’s physical. The rest are emotional.
On Saturday morning I took Sam down to his high school to take a practice ACT test. He had a harder time waking up early on a Saturday than I did, and I had a hard time realizing this is yet another step TOWARD COLLEGE. I keep thinking an apprenticeship as a plumber or electrician would pay off better in the long run, because he’s not set on being a left-handed power-hitting first baseman, but no one supports these thoughts. The upside for him was he met up with his girlfriend at the test and then they had lunch and rode the “L” back up to our neighborhood. I grew up in suburbia where you didn’t go out to lunch. Plus, at 15, I didn’t have a girlfriend.
Then Moll went to her first ballet class, and Linda tells me she felt good about it. Like a lot of young ladies, as I understand it, she is very unsure about herself and her body. Being with other girls her age who were starting a class as well made her feel better. I always thought that just getting a hug from me would do the trick, at no cost.
On Saturday morning as Sam and I were getting ready to go to his test, I turned on PBS just to see what was now on for the little ones, and there was “Caillou.” I could do several posts about how creepy that show is, eclipsed only by “The Big Comfy Couch,” and we watched them both when the kids were smaller.
I’m happy to see my kids grow up and become more confident. It makes me melancholy to see them move out of childhood – but there are some TV shows that I am glad to see gone.
~ Mike
Oh Mike, I so know where you’re coming from. Our oldest went off to college this year (10 hour drive away…eek!) and it was difficult letting her go. But I’ve found that while physically she’s so far away, emotionally, we’ve never been closer. When she calls, I drop everything to talk to her, and we spend an hour on the phone. That NEVER happened while she was living at home. I mean really, when they live at home, when do we ever just stop everything to talk to them or they to us? She spent most of her senior year gone to this activity or that, our out with her friends. Family was the last on the list. When she came home at Christmas this year, she spent most of her time with us. When I asked her if she was going to see her friends (which she did, occasionally) she said “No, I’d rather be with you mom.” Music to my ears. And believe it or not, by the time the break was over, I was ready for her to go back to school. I love that girl, but the good Lord knows when it’s time for them to fly. It all works out the way it’s supposed to. After all, you don’t want them living at home forever, right? Okay, I’ve written a whole post myself (sorry) so I’ll sign off now. But just know that it’ll all be okay. Have a great day!
Debbie
Aww! Mine are still tiny but I know those days are coming. Just think of how you never have to hear those annoying kids songs ever again. Until you have grandkids, then it’ll be your responsibility to sing them.
Sigh. I’ve been feeling very sentimental lately, this post only reinforces that. The silver lining, one day I won’t have to watch Caillou 🙂
Caillou creepy?!? There is a tender spot in my heart for Caillou. I really can’t tell you why, but I liked that big-head boy and his little sister. That couch with the clowns is a whole other story, though…
Been feeling our age around here, too. We were wondering if it’s having kids who are so clearly nearing the edge of our nest that’s doing it. Then we wondered if we really were older a while ago, but we were just so busy raising them we didn’t notice it.
At any rate, feel your pain, both physical and emotional. Really enjoy reading your posts. (OK, that makes me sound like a masochist, but I’m not. Really. :-))
Very funny post, thanks for my morning smile. Bob The Builder and Teletubbies were big in our household when my 16 and 12 year olds were small. The woman on Big Comfy Couch drove me crazy!
I’m more disturbed by the nun (at least I think that’s what it is!) standing in the back of the black and white photo than I am about Cailllou.
Bliss