Gray Hair, Part II

How come the words, "Spring Break" sounded so much better before I had a son in college? I remember Spring Break for me...we didn't head to the beach, we headed to the ski slopes for 5 or 6 days of skiing at Jackson Hole, hanging out, yada-yada-yada. Interesting question, I thought to myself as Jeff reminded us he was heading to Daytona Beach after his Chem final last Friday. Let's see, cramming all week, finals in Calc, English and Inorganic Chem, then driving all night to Daytona Beach...lots of gray hair opportunities. However he was doing Spring Break in a way that I never did...he was heading down to the sun with his Real Life team. Worshiping the Son while worshipping the sun. Lori and I were mostly worried about him driving down there after finals week. We made sure he called us to tell us he made it safe...we couldn't sleep until we found out.

The weather wasn't that great down there, and he actually got a little sick early on. I think he reacts to stress that way. He felt much better the second half, and really had a great time getting to know some of his Real Life group a little better. Sharing his faith was a little harder, but he said kids were pretty interested in hearing his testimony. The sad part is how Daytona just ain't what it used to be at Spring Break. I think all the kids head to Cancun, Padre Island and New Orleans. Daytona Beach has lost its allure as a party spot.

The best part of his spring break was that he got to come home to Seattle for the last 3 days. We flew him home so he could spend some time with us. I think he missed his family. He actually chose to have dinner with us instead of running out with his old friends! Shocked to say the least. Melanie was glad to see him home, and immediately questioned his fashion sense...running around the house announcing that her brother was now a "prep!" I couldn't tell the difference, he looked like a typical teenager. His first day home was spent with his mother doing taxes, laundry and paying bills. I grilled steaks for supper, then a couple of his pals from high school showed up with "Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny"...hilarious. Of course he slept in, ate like a Survivor! contestant, and stayed out really late chillin' with his friends.

I came to realize something...I don't actually need to spend that much time with him, I am just happy to see him alive. I get enough satisfaction in that first hug, smile and slap on the back...he is then free to run around with his friends, sleep, nap on the couch, whatever he wants. I think just knowing he is nearby is good enough for me.

His visit came and went too quickly, and Lori and I found ourselves dropping him off at the airport at 5:30 this morning. As we pulled away from the curb, "Helicopter" mom wondered if he remembered to check his bag all the way to Columbus...even had to leave a voicemail for him to remind him. I wanted to tell her to just run back there to check, but she is trying to fly her helicopter at a further distance from him. No tears from her this time, but she was close...I think she is starting to get used to the idea of him leaving home.

Until next post, Chow!

Grey Hair

Okay, now I can feel the grey hairs growing out of my head. All it took was to get a nice birthday phone call from my son at college. Jeff is a freshman at THE Ohio State University, and is a fairly long way from home. His mother and I worry about how he is doing, if he is missing us, eating enough, sleeping enough, making friends, doing his laundry the right way, and on and on. I am sure my folks did this type of worrying about me too, but it didn't seem like it at the time. Jeff is probably the same way...anyway, he called home to wish me a Happy Birthday and we got to talking about his first Spring Break coming up. He has decided that he will spend it with some friends in Daytona Beach, FL. He signed up to go down there (driving all night) with a group from "Real Life", a Christian organization. He has been fairly involved with them since school started. He said they are going to introduce themselves to other kids on the beach, sharing their faith a little while soaking up some sun. We have all seen these groups of kids, singing at sunrise, praying in a big group, and then splitting up into smaller teams to play frisbee and catch with strangers hoping to spark a conversation. His other choice was heading to New Orleans to volunteer with the clean-up efforts. Both worthy endeavors, but I think the sun and sand of Daytona won out. But that isn't what is greying me prematurely...

He had also just decided to back out of his involvement with a fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon (Teeks). Turns out the hazing was getting a little out of hand. He didn't think it was worth it, and even changed his mind about the organization. He went through the Rush process filled with excitement about the fraternity, and now after experiencing a little too much hazing, he had second thoughts. I am glad he is willing to talk to me about it. Besides the typical "slavery" duties they are forced to do for the more senior brothers, it seems they had the pledges clean the Schottenstein Fieldhouse after a big basketball game and left them there late at night without rides. He got a little pissed that he and a few others were left behind without any warning. The final straw was when they forced the pledges (underage) to drink alcohol until they puked. I think that is what turned him 180 degrees. He is making some man-sized decisions and I am really proud of him, but at the same time I am worrying for him. I am glad he has the sense to understand when he is being put into bad situations. He called the frat to let them know he was pulling his membership.

Don't you just wish your kids could just benefit from your wisdom and not have to endure tough lessons in life? Isn't this the same question all parents throughout history have asked?

I will be on the road for the next couple of weeks traveling east. I will try to keep this updated, but forgive me if I don't.

Chow for now! (Yes, Irene I spelled it this way on purpose!)