In that case, I think we’re mostly on the right path.
Today I’m proud of my older daughter all over again. I told her she’d been invited to join “Junior Cotillion” to learn about etiquette and ballroom dancing. As I described the dances and how the girls have to wear dresses and white gloves, and you learn about old fashioned manners, her face clearly communicated, “Holy shit, this sounds awful and dumb. Is my mother going to make me go to this?” I asked if she wanted to go, she said “NO.” Then we made fun of the Advisory Board listing all their names in the format “Mrs. John Smith (Jane).” That’s my little feminist!
All 3 of my kids are great - but my middle child did something last week that really surprised me in a good way. All through high school she was the most inclined to impulse buy, and had the least grasp of managing money.
She graduated from college 2 years ago. Until this March, she worked as an office manager for zippo money. She’s still on my phone plan as it’s way cheaper for me to have another line than for her to get her own.
In March she got a good job with decent pay in a field that her college major prepared her for. We talked about her getting her own phone account vs. paying the $20.00 extra a month her number costs me. I gave her the last telephone bill I had received with the idea that she’d look at the cost breakdown and let me know how she wants to proceed. She called me yesterday to let me know that she just paid the entire bill - which pretty much makes us even for the year.
Her little brother is about to graduate from college with a 3.89 GPA. He goes to IU where the Little 500 is a big deal (Little 500 - Wikipedia). The team he rides on has finished 4th, 1st, and 2nd the 3 years he’s ridden for them.
Two sons. Oldest is an executive with a certain software company, still reads challenging books, learns new languages, collects comic books, happily married, and in the process of adopting a greyhound. MBA, and his wife is a CPA.
Youngest is a PhD in Economics, currently teaching in a college. Married with two sons and a lovely wife who is also a medical physician. He and his family all just competed a 5 km race/walk.
To give this some background, my Dad (their grandfather) didn’t finish 8th grade. I upped that with a university degree and post grad work, but they have greatly outdistanced my modest efforts, neither of them choosing to follow me in the sciences.
My 2 year old has an iphone (no service) which he uses to navigate youtube to find clips and episodes of his favorite shows and funny animal videos. I have no idea how he does it.
Anyway, he found the “Charlie bit me” video one night and so now he sticks his fingers out and says, “I want ow Charlie, okay?” And then we bite him and he, in a tiny little British accent (we’re from Minnesota), says “Ow. Owww, Charlie. OWWWW, CHARLIE, that really hurt.” Here’s a link if you haven’t seen it: - YouTube
So he’s really funny.
We have this bedtime routine where I’ll sit next to his bed and we’ll say “Love you” to everybody we know. Love you Mom, love you Dad, big brother, grandma, grandma’s dogs, Pooh, whatever. Every night he says, “Love you, new baby.” He has no idea who that is except that there’s a cool swing in the house that he can’t play with because it’s for “the new baby.”
My 9 year old is going to start football in the summer. I’m thrilled that it was his idea, not mine, and that he seems very excited about it. Also, his grades are awesome and he’s the sweetest kid I know and, even though he isn’t always very impressive, I know he tries really hard to do his best at everything he does. He’s a good boy.
My two daughters have six degrees between them, and the older one is just about done with a PhD. She’s holding off because her husband started his own law practice after graduating, and is actually making a profit after only a year, and hired two associates. Younger one is living in Germany where she moved on a Fulbright fellowship, and decided to stay. Older daughter and I published two papers together, and taught a tutorial at a conference (for real money) for three years.
And she just passed the first hurdle for a tenure track job, though she wants to publish more before really going out for it. And she just got a fellowship and a two year teaching job which she prefers since it comes with health insurance for the family.
I’ve got the two grandbabies (age 1 and 3.5) from tonight for the weekend. They are, of course, Mensa-in-the-Making-Material…Maybe or Maybe not.
Tonight I bribed the older boy with some VERY special treats if he’d eat his dinner up without hassle (he’s a revolting scroat when it comes to mealtimes) and when I told him the treats were just for him (and not his little bro) dinner was scoffed damned quick. Chocolate, chippies and lemon-barley water followed.
So in jammies and ready for bed, he insisted upon sleeping in MY bed, as he usually does when he visits alone. I explained that it was important for him to sleep in the ‘big’ bed in ‘his’ room (also has the cot), so that his little brother won’t get lonely during the night.
Verbatim: “That’s OK Nana, I’ll stay here until Si falls asleep, then I’ll come into your bed”.
Not really bragging, but bloody funny all the same. I love my grandbabbies…they are da bomb.
Must return to this thread. The Fem-Bot™ graduated from college on May 30th. This past Tuesday, July 9th, she got a full-time job in Manhattan in her field- Finance.
