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Another week...
May. 8th, 2010 04:26 pmWell, one chick has now successfully flown from the nest and landed safely in Eugene, OR. The place feels... quieter, I guess would be the proper word for it. On the down side, I don't have L popping into the kitchen to discuss things anymore, and I miss that. He was just really waking up to the wide world of how everything around him - environmental, political, and so on - affected (or could affect him) personally, and in more than just his pocketbook. He enjoyed the scenery on the drive up there, though, and saw parts of California he'd never seen before in his life. On the up side, I will be getting a bedroom that is currently primed and ready for a new coat of paint.
More apron-string stretching happened yesterday and today when JJ, the learning-disabled side of the twins, hopped a bus at 6AM that he'd have to transfer from to another bus once he hit SLO and then make it to his Special Olympics Regional Meet by 8AM. I asked him to call once he got there, forgetting he didn't have a cell phone (he used too many minutes this month already, and his sister cut him off at the ankles until after the next bill.) So I had to wait around and hope and pray he made it ok. He did, coming home when he was supposed to and surprised when I reminded him he was supposed to call. TODAY he hopped the bus again to attend his work supervisor's wedding at the Old Mission up there. No, I haven't heard from him, and I'm gonna have to trust that he'll be home on time again.
It's one thing when your kid is fully functional to watch him/her waltz out the door, knowing that if there are problems they'll call, and trusting that they'll make it back ok. It's another entirely to watch a 27-yr-old who still cannot read waltz out the door. JJ's got a lot of intelligence, don't get me wrong; his disabilities lie in a number of areas. But it's the principle of the thing: of letting go of a child that, in so many ways, needs supervision and parental nurturing despite being an adult.
In some ways, I'm glad this is all happening at once. I need to make peace with the concept that Hubby and I are essentially retired now. Our kids are grown. Our parents are gone. We are the family elders (except for one or two near-centenarians who live far away.)
I still have 2 of my 3 kids in the house with me - well, ok, Súl is in my parents' old apartment, in the middle of a floor-to-ceiling renovation of it, and perfectly capable of moving out on her own at the drop of a hat. She has a job that would afford the high housing costs around here easily. To have her here is as much a convenience for her as it is for me. And luckily, we get along well. I get along well with them all, for that matter.
It's just that a person doesn't expect this to creep up on you and then jump out from behind a rock at you. I looked in the mirror as I got my hair cut a while ago and saw my mother sitting there, I swear. When did that happen?
I still need to take my daily walk today. I'm hoping this feeling old crud will evaporate with some fresh air and exercise.
After I post this weeks fics, that is...
More apron-string stretching happened yesterday and today when JJ, the learning-disabled side of the twins, hopped a bus at 6AM that he'd have to transfer from to another bus once he hit SLO and then make it to his Special Olympics Regional Meet by 8AM. I asked him to call once he got there, forgetting he didn't have a cell phone (he used too many minutes this month already, and his sister cut him off at the ankles until after the next bill.) So I had to wait around and hope and pray he made it ok. He did, coming home when he was supposed to and surprised when I reminded him he was supposed to call. TODAY he hopped the bus again to attend his work supervisor's wedding at the Old Mission up there. No, I haven't heard from him, and I'm gonna have to trust that he'll be home on time again.
It's one thing when your kid is fully functional to watch him/her waltz out the door, knowing that if there are problems they'll call, and trusting that they'll make it back ok. It's another entirely to watch a 27-yr-old who still cannot read waltz out the door. JJ's got a lot of intelligence, don't get me wrong; his disabilities lie in a number of areas. But it's the principle of the thing: of letting go of a child that, in so many ways, needs supervision and parental nurturing despite being an adult.
In some ways, I'm glad this is all happening at once. I need to make peace with the concept that Hubby and I are essentially retired now. Our kids are grown. Our parents are gone. We are the family elders (except for one or two near-centenarians who live far away.)
I still have 2 of my 3 kids in the house with me - well, ok, Súl is in my parents' old apartment, in the middle of a floor-to-ceiling renovation of it, and perfectly capable of moving out on her own at the drop of a hat. She has a job that would afford the high housing costs around here easily. To have her here is as much a convenience for her as it is for me. And luckily, we get along well. I get along well with them all, for that matter.
It's just that a person doesn't expect this to creep up on you and then jump out from behind a rock at you. I looked in the mirror as I got my hair cut a while ago and saw my mother sitting there, I swear. When did that happen?
I still need to take my daily walk today. I'm hoping this feeling old crud will evaporate with some fresh air and exercise.
After I post this weeks fics, that is...
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