07.30.07
The nest is (briefly) empty
My teenage son (an only child as those of you who read this stuff regularly will know) is away in France with his cousin staying with some friends who are currently renovating a house. He is no doubt having a great time, and is hopefully learning that work is a good thing, but he is less than communicative. He has a roof over his head, food (and lots of it if I know him) and a beach complete with sea outside the front door to go and have fun in. So apparently he doesn’t need to speak to me other than exchange the odd text. When I asked him if I should ring him his answer was No: Why? What more can be said?
I of course encouraged him to go on this trip and am glad he is doing something constructive with his long summer. He has also done well to escape the English weather on a year which has seen the wettest July in history. But of course I am missing him and I am finding it mighty strange not to have his music blaring out, not to have his dry wit and acid comments when I say something out of turn. It is strange not to have to buy a continuous stream of pizzas and other fast and unhealthy foods to fill his skinny body with. He will be back in a week or so, and has only been away from us for just over a week since we left him in France, but it is mighty odd and I guess a precursor to what we will need to expect when he goes off to college in a couple of years. No one prepares you for parent hood, and nothing can quite prepare you for this feeling either. Mind you, his bedroom is at least staying tidy!
