Thought provoking Zack...

Sometimes, most times, I'm just amazed at the people my kids are growing up to be!  I'd like to take credit for it,  but mainly I just thank the stars above that we're so lucky!  I mean, who would have thought that my little Brenna, who once took a zero on her Spanish homework, because she didn't know which basket to put it in and was too afraid to ask, would be living all the way in Wisconsin getting her Masters Degree and talking about a PhD!!???

And Zack... so damn funny, it's not even fair!  Smart, kind, thoughtful and deep.... just a pleasure to be around and I'm not sure how may people can say that about their teenage boys!  He's a thinker... and quick....

He said something to me the other day.... We were talking about how much he's grown up and how when he was little we used to have to piggyback him everywhere and that now, he can probably piggyback me everywhere.   And he said.... "Just think, one day you picked me up for the last time and you didn't even know it, but it was the last day you ever did it!"  Say what??!!!  What kind of teenage boy, thinks like that.  It's a pretty deep, self-aware kind of thought.  He wasn't saying it to be mean or make me sad, he was just contemplating how fast time goes and that you sometimes don't realize how things change.  I, of course, still get all teary-eyed thinking about how true it is.  How many "lasts" do we let slip by without ever thinking about it or stopping and taking the time to really appreciate? Suddenly we turn around and those infuriating toddlers or preschoolers, or middle schoolers are all grown up and moving out and starting to make their own lives....  I know it's a cliche, put they are cliches for a reason,  it all just goes by too fast and the older I get the faster it goes!  I want to make a real effort to treasure it all.

To Job or Not to Job

Our Brenna girl has a new job. I debated whether we should let her get another job, but in the end I decided she has to make her own choices. This is her second job, she worked for a couple of months this fall at Carabbas Italian Grill. She was a hostess and she seemed to like it in the beginning, but sort of approached it in the same way she approaches her chores. Both earn her money, which she likes, but both impinge on her social life, which she doesn't like. So it was the eternal battle - social life and fun vs. work and earning money. When the shifts were convenient and didn't interrupt her life she was happy to work, but when they didn't... I tried to explain to her that was what work was. Working, even when you didn't want to, even when you were sick. Otherwise, it's called "play" and they don't usually pay you for that. But in the end, she had to work it out for herself and she moved on from Carabbas.

So, I was a little hesitant about her getting another job. But, I've come to view this year as sort of a trial run for college. This is the time for her to practice making decisions. After all in 2 weeks she'll be 18 and in less than 6 months she'll be leaving for college and can pretty much do whatever the hell she wants with no parents anywhere around. So, we've been letting her run her own schedule, homework and social life. Don't get me wrong she still has to tell us where, when and who she's with. She still has a curfew and basic rules and guidelines, but I'm trying to let her fly on her own. It's not easy. As a matter of fact it's down right scary. But I must say for the most part, she has stepped up to the plate and really handled things well. Occasionally she'll break out the bitchitude, but for the most part she's turned into a delightful young lady.

So, she got a new job at a Mom and Pop type pizza parlor. She's a waitress, not just a hostess and she's just jumped in with both feet. I'm so proud of her. Never waitressed, never run a cash register, but she just stepped right up and never looked back. I still remember the days when we couldn't take her anywhere new without a panic attack, when we had to sit in the daycare room and wait until she said it was okay for us to leave and now look at her. I guess they do grow up in spite of us!