Tonight it’s just me and the crickets….and Son #2.
I’m reading one of my many books that are stacked on my nightstand. Still a purist, I haven’t gone over to the Dark Side of Kindle. I like the feel of pages under my fingers, makeshift bookmarks, turned down corners, and a full bookcase. Books are my companion when I’m alone. I’ll read them over and over again.
Son #2 is in his room doing homework. Calculus. Physics, too. He’s a much different child than Son #1. No homework fights with this kid. No riding him to be responsible. He has the inner drive to do better than before. His goal is to beat last year’s GPA. He’s more of a planner and sees the steps needed to move himself from Point A to the far distant Point B.
I hear Son #2 from my bedroom. The Xbox is on in his room and he’s using the headset to talk to his girlfriend. He calls her by nicknames such as Bubbaloo and Babe. He’s explaining that he needs to do his homework tonight (Friday) since he works on Saturday and Sunday and it’s all due on Monday. He asks how her day at school went and praises her for getting a good grade on her test.
Ah, young love…. the sweet times of pet names and late night conversations…I also listen to see if I remembered anything from my own adventures in Calculus. Alas, my days of integrals and derivatives are behind me…
Son #1 is also a math whiz kid. But his motivation is vastly different. He’s the type that just can’t be bothered when it came to good grades. “I’ll do just enough to skate by,” is Son #1’s motto. Getting C’s in high school didn’t phase him, he still went to the Johns Hopkins CTY program every summer (and enjoyed it) but high school was not in his Top Priority List. Friends, Ultimate Frisbee, Xbox, Soccer and Work, those are his priorities.
But that kid is a model employee.
We just celebrated a work anniversary for Son #1. He’s been at the same job for several years now, and they love him. He does things other teenagers won’t do. Like scrubbing the rubber floor joint with a toothbrush to get out all of the grease and grime. He’s also dependable. He goes into work when expected, picks up other kids’ shifts, and has learned every job in the place. They made him an emergency manager for when the regular managers aren’t able to cover a shift.
When he wants to, he’s got drive. He’ll be a mover and shaker because he can direct, allocate, charm and persuade others to see his vision for the team. He has a way of recognizing the skills and talents of others and meshing them into a larger unit. I think he’ll be an excellent leader.
Now he’s getting tired of working at his current place of employment for (relative) peanuts and wants to create an app for cell phones and tablets. “Mom, some day I’ll sell my app to Google and I’ll retire to make more apps while I travel around.” He tells me this as he shows off a menu he’s created on his cell phone. Then he looks at me and asks the question, “Mom, how I can make this scalable for different devices…?”
I don’t know (although I’m flattered that he thinks this is something I have in my bag of parenting knowledge). He’s barking up the wrong tree if he expects an answer from me. I point him towards sites like StackOverflow.com where tech-savvy people can help him out.
Little things lead to great things. ~ Van Gough.
My boys are wonderful people and I’m super proud to parent them.
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