We have, but we don't any longer.
See, he's grown up. Adult-style, albeit with glimmers of the teenager he used to be. Much like the rest of us.
Sometimes one must dig deep to find the good parts of teenagers. But those not-so-surface parts are the ones I hold most dear and, delightfully, are the pieces that tend to stick around as they mature. To preserve perspective, the memory retains some less-positive parts too. It's much like fondly remembering the delightful scent of a cuddly infant fresh out of the bathtub instead of focusing on that leaky diaper and the subsequent artistic use of diarrhea.
It is not uncommon for newly-minted adults to take charge of old furnishings and such from their parent's home to outfit their own residences. The Boy did that for us two years ago when he got his first apartment. But now he doesn't have an apartment and he most likely won't for a while. There's travel in his future. So where do the fairly minimal possessions he retained get stored? Why, our house of course. Hey, at least we get to use his spiffy blender until he settles down. I've had worse trade-offs.
We put The Boy on a bus yesterday, off to his summer job at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. The musical is Hair, his role is "Claude," and yes, he, along with the rest of the cast, will be naked on stage at one point or another. The last show we saw him in was The Full Monty. I'm sensing a dangerous trend.
The past four weeks were the largest chunk of time he'd spent at home since leaving for college in August 2003. I didn't really know what to expect and, due to a certain circumstance, was slightly apprehensive. Turns out it was the most comfortable we've all been with each other since his journey to adulthood began in earnest as a teen. Not that we were uncomfortable before, it's more like we've reached a new plateau. Something has shifted in the family dynamic. It feels good.
So should you find yourself near Ithaca in July, go see the show! Afterward, buy "Claude" a sandwich or something. The Boy may be a man, but he still eats like a teenager!
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See, he's grown up. Adult-style, albeit with glimmers of the teenager he used to be. Much like the rest of us.
Sometimes one must dig deep to find the good parts of teenagers. But those not-so-surface parts are the ones I hold most dear and, delightfully, are the pieces that tend to stick around as they mature. To preserve perspective, the memory retains some less-positive parts too. It's much like fondly remembering the delightful scent of a cuddly infant fresh out of the bathtub instead of focusing on that leaky diaper and the subsequent artistic use of diarrhea.
It is not uncommon for newly-minted adults to take charge of old furnishings and such from their parent's home to outfit their own residences. The Boy did that for us two years ago when he got his first apartment. But now he doesn't have an apartment and he most likely won't for a while. There's travel in his future. So where do the fairly minimal possessions he retained get stored? Why, our house of course. Hey, at least we get to use his spiffy blender until he settles down. I've had worse trade-offs.
We put The Boy on a bus yesterday, off to his summer job at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. The musical is Hair, his role is "Claude," and yes, he, along with the rest of the cast, will be naked on stage at one point or another. The last show we saw him in was The Full Monty. I'm sensing a dangerous trend.
The past four weeks were the largest chunk of time he'd spent at home since leaving for college in August 2003. I didn't really know what to expect and, due to a certain circumstance, was slightly apprehensive. Turns out it was the most comfortable we've all been with each other since his journey to adulthood began in earnest as a teen. Not that we were uncomfortable before, it's more like we've reached a new plateau. Something has shifted in the family dynamic. It feels good.
So should you find yourself near Ithaca in July, go see the show! Afterward, buy "Claude" a sandwich or something. The Boy may be a man, but he still eats like a teenager!
13 comments:
Two of our three newly minted adults have taken advantage of the 100% parental discount on housing-- one for about a year and a half now, though he says he's moving on. On August 1. Throw in his five year old son who visits here just about every day, and you have the makings of a tragicomedicsoap. It'll be nice to have our house back.
I have no child/teenager/adult experience other than my own.
But, Hair, hair is an odd thing to watch. I saw a production of it this year. Should be a memorable summer, for him and upstate NY is great this time of year. Youth has its perks.
Middle Girl has an actor too! Maybe they could co-star together on Broadway!
Haven't seen my actor in a full monty pose, yet (no hurry), but I am well acquainted with much of the rest.
The shifting of family dynamics and it feeling good? Yeah, fantastic!
Hey, cool. Which part in *The Full Monty* did he play?
agoodlistener, you'll miss them when they're gone! You know you will. :)
Lori, TOD and I have shared notes on our actor sons. Broadway would be an excellent place for them to meet!
pervy, he was "Jerry Lukowski" in The Full Monty. Fun, fun show.
I own 2 at the moment and 2 more are warming up... My eldest, 17, son, is showing absolutely no sign of being a well adjusted young adult. And in fact, has been invited to live through 11th grade for a second year. *sigh* I love reading about yours and TOD's sons. I even sometimes pretend they really belong to me. Am I terrible? I had plans for the empty bedroom damit! *evil grin*
Never owned a teenager, but I have two nieces who are still little ones and I already dread what we will all go through with them. They are so loved. I might have to knock people out that bother them. LMAO!
they're like cats - you don't own them... they own you.
:)
Good point, weese!
I'm glad you have reached a new level of understanding with each other.
It's Liz from I Speak of Dreams. My youngest, Jumper Girl, is off to college in August. I wonder how I'll feel.
And middle stepson Scholar Boy got to walk in his graduation, even though he had 2 more courses to finish (university distribution requirements not quite satisfied), but that was OK. He got it done, went to Europe for a year of more language studies, and then back to graduate school.
I'm closer to oldest Drummer Man than I've ever been. Helps that he has his own house now and a girlfriend who also has a toddler. So I'm some kind of faux grandmother & loving it.
"Claude Hooper Bukowski, finds that its groovy to hide in the movies with Angie Svelini and Antonioni and also his countryman Roman Polanski, all rolled into one, in Claude Hooper Bukowski!"
I love "Hair"!
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