As a parent, you're always proud of your child’s accomplishments. Hell, you don’t have to even be a parent to be proud of someone for their accomplishments. When I opened the door the other night, I was totally amazed and pleased that Monty didn’t bark his head off when I came in the front door; I said, "I'm so proud of you, Monty."
Oddly, for some reason, Monty doesn’t give a damn about security when no one, except him and the felines, are home. That could be a bad attribute for a pseudo-security dog. He and I will discuss that when it’s time for his performance review!
As some of you know, my 17-year-old son was accepted to UMass-Dartmouth a few weeks ago. A week ago, he visited a college in Florida to which he had also applied. I’m not going to name that college now for reasons known to many of you. (Hello, Casey, just in case your web search captures phrases like “a college in Florida!”) He loved that college.
When I arrived home today, he said totally elated, “Mom, I got into UMaine!” I said, “That’s great!” He then told me that he was invited to participate in some special academic program there, too. UMaine was the first school he visited; it was love at first sight for him, well, until he saw how college life in Florida can be!
He said to me, “You know, Dad was wrong.” I asked, “Why?” He said, “Because he gives me such a hard time about grades.” I then said, “Hey, just because you’ve been accepted to two schools doesn’t mean you can goof off the rest of your Senior year!”
He said, “No. That’s not what I mean.” I asked, “What do you mean?” He said, “Dad made it out that if I didn’t get the best grades I’d never get in anywhere. He was so wrong!”
I said, “Well,” and then I stopped. I had to agree and disagree somewhere between Nathan and his Dad; grades were important, but they certainly weren’t everything when applying to a college or, at least, I didn't think they should be. Before I could say something parental indicating that both Nathan and his Dad had valid points, Nathan spoke again.
Nathan said, “I’m just so glad I know that I have two places to go.” I asked, “You didn’t think you would?” Nathan didn’t have to answer; I knew how it felt.
Applying to college seemed like a trial romance. You threw yourself out there heart and soul, waited to be checked out, and then hoped that someone you actually liked would say, "Hey, will you date me for the next four years?"
After a lot of excitement (from him), and congratulations (from me), I went to leave to do some errands. When I was backing the car out of the driveway, I saw Nathan leave the house without a coat on; I thought he might be going to take the trash barrels behind the house. I saw him continue down the road; he was going to Connor's house to tell him that he got into UMaine.
I remember being that excited the day I broke the discus record at my high school. I remember being that excited the day that Eric Beers, a hockey player I had a crush on, said "Hi" to me in the hallway. I remember being that excited the day I found out I got into Brandeis, a school I had a huge crush on but didn't think it would ever ask me to go steady from 1980 to 1984.
When I saw Nathan start to run down the road, I began to cry. It was not sadness. I was so proud of him, and I could feel all of his happiness flowing through me and right to my heart just like I did when Eric Beers said "Hi" to me that day.
The realization finally came that Nathan was all grown up now; he was not my "Bear" anymore. He was ecstatic about the next chapter in his adult life, and so was I. And, that made two of us looking forward to turning to the next page in Life magazine. ♥
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