Official Teenager

Aaaaaahhhhhh, this kid:

(Yeah, the one on the left, cracking up.)

Still my baby, even though he’s technically 13 today and (therefore) officially a teenager.

Still our joy, always making us laugh when we most need it.

Still our “happy kid” (did I mention that his dad wanted his middle name to be “Happy”? Woulda worked!).

Still that crazy kid who has a cool combination of being very laid back and very off-the-wall at the same time.

Still the smallest one in the class, though he’s shot up at least two inches just this fall alone! (Go Nate!)

Still our Nate the Great.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Second Year in College

Ricky (right) and friend/roommate A, ecstatic to be at the first Griz game this season. The stadium is right on campus!

So we got Ricky off on a plane out of LAX, back to his new home state of Montana. He barely looked back. …

(Of course, that might have been because we barely got him there on time.)

Here’s what happened: We screeched up to the curb at Delta about ten minutes before his flight was supposed to leave (bad us – we had all decided to do important things that day, like go see The Dark Knight together and then get In-N-Out. … we’re as bad as the teenagers …). Anyway, we screeched up; Ricky hopped out to get his suitcase; I gave him the fastest hug in the universe; Superman did, too; and then he was off! It was weird to say goodbye that way.

But really, our morning at the theater to watch The Dark Knight – all five of us, even – was the better “goodbye.”

We had a good summer with him, although his summers are made up now of mostly visiting friends and then working to earn school money. And something tells me he might not come home at all next summer – he’s settling in, it seems, in Montana. This year, he’s renting a house, has a new job at the newspaper, and has his “Montana friends.” But we’ll see.

He’s drifting into adulthood.

And we’re letting him.

It’s the thing that parents do, right?

Writing Kids …

Ricky for KBGA Radio

All my kids are writing these days, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

Rene has tiptoed into the realm of fiction with a great short story and some beautiful poetry. (She uses “beats” so naturally, and her sentences have gorgeous variety.) Nate just wrote a really funny, clever “commercial” that he had to film in his class — he took on the whole writing aspect for his entire group, plus did the reading as the narrator, and was thrilled to get applause from his fellow seventh graders! And Ricky’s been sending me his articles for his journalism classes, and they’re terrific. (Great, natural use of quotes, as well as lyrical sentences.) Ricky’s also been reading news and sports on his college radio station, so I get to tune in every-other Tuesday and hear his articles live and hear him banter the news. (So fun!)

The trick was — all these years — I couldn’t ever actually suggest they get into writing of any kind. (Because then it would’ve been a rebellious kind of Mommmm, no!) And I still have to bite my tongue all the time and try not to suggest it too much.

But when they discover it on their own … then … yes!!! … they get to experience the magic I always did.

Have you ever wanted to push your kids into talents or professions, but simply had to control yourself?

Ricky’s Home!

He flew in Saturday morning, and the whole family went to pick him up at Long Beach airport, which is a tiny, time-warpish airport with only four small terminals, where you can sit at umbrella-shaded formica picnic tables and eat danishes while your loved one comes out at the one small baggage claim and can spot you right away. It’s an awesome little airport. Rene, Nate and I fed the birds until Chris came around the corner with Ricky, who was still wearing his flannel shirt and coat and “looking all Montana-ish,” according to Nathan.

He also looked a little tired — he had been up for 26 hours (because he’d finished his last final 26 hours ago, and then spent the afternoon packing and watching the last playoff game for his college team, but was afraid his friends, and his ride to the airport, would not wake up in time for the 4;30 a.m. trek). But he still managed to share a few stories and details before doing these five important things he’d been dying to do:

1. Driving in his car again.

2. Visiting the girl he missed most.

3. Visiting his group of friends from high school, who all got together that night.

4. Taking a nap on our couch.

5. Eating an In-N-Out burger.

Then it was off to our Sanchez family Christmas party a few hours later, where he got to have his uncle’s gumbo again and answer tons of questions from his uncles, nino, nina, cousins, etc.

(I think he caught up on some sleep Sunday morning.)

It’s good to have him home. It’ll be a fun five weeks. …

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...