Personal: June 2008 Archives
So, I'm sitting in the bar at the Hotel Zaltbommel in the Netherlands, and it's Justin's 20th birthday. It's not the first birthday of his I've been away for, but I feel like this is a milestone. If he's been around for 20 years, that means I've been a dad for as much time. It's been a pretty fun ride, and I'm sort of sad I'm not there to take him to lunch and share the moment.
But like the good absentee dad I am I picked him up something he'll enjoy, a footie shirt. The Dutch are doing well in Euro Cup 2008, Justin likes them, mainly because the captain for the Dutch, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_saar">Edwin van der Sar</a>, plays for Manchester United, his club, as goalie. So, he'll have his red MUFC shirt and an orange Dutch national shirt to wear around school next year. Still, I miss being home.
I've been through a lot with that kid, and he still manages to amaze me. As y'all know, he's a Nuclear Engineering major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He amazed me in high school when he came through being part of the "storm class of 2006." He spent the first semester of his senior year sleeping on the floor of a friend's rented house in Baton Rouge, so he could go to his school's satellite campus up there. He got a lot of advanced placement and struggled with calculus a bit but pulled himself through.
There was the day he called me from Atlanta and asked if I thought he should read <u>Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</u> or Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. (I voted for Shirer and he agreed.) I gave him control of the family's Netflix queue for the summer and got a notice yesterday that he ordered "Ben Hur," this after ordering up 5-6 other Academy Award willing films. He's that kind of person, wants to understand what made something in the past so great.
He's been working at the Waterford 3 nuclear power plant up the river as an engineering intern this summer. It's given him some solid work experience, pushing the student out into the real world a bit. Some of his reactions to that real world have been interesting to observe. He wants me to teach him how to cook more for himself, so he can be more independent of the dining hall this coming school year.
Thing is, he's not the type to sit at the computer and e-mail or IM. He'll talk on the phone, but he also knows that I'm roaming at a fairly steep price while in Europe, so he won't call. We have great face-to-face conversations, just like I do with little brother, but I'm not there for them right now. That makes me sad, even though I'll be in Amsterdam tomorrow. Even if I find something cool there to bring him back, it's not the same, today's a missed opportunity. He'll be a day older tomorrow.
Dayum, I'm so proud of him.
Happy Birthday, kiddo. You've grown up into quite the exceptional young man. Next year, we'll do Vegas for your 21st. :-)
But like the good absentee dad I am I picked him up something he'll enjoy, a footie shirt. The Dutch are doing well in Euro Cup 2008, Justin likes them, mainly because the captain for the Dutch, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_saar">Edwin van der Sar</a>, plays for Manchester United, his club, as goalie. So, he'll have his red MUFC shirt and an orange Dutch national shirt to wear around school next year. Still, I miss being home.
I've been through a lot with that kid, and he still manages to amaze me. As y'all know, he's a Nuclear Engineering major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He amazed me in high school when he came through being part of the "storm class of 2006." He spent the first semester of his senior year sleeping on the floor of a friend's rented house in Baton Rouge, so he could go to his school's satellite campus up there. He got a lot of advanced placement and struggled with calculus a bit but pulled himself through.
There was the day he called me from Atlanta and asked if I thought he should read <u>Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</u> or Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. (I voted for Shirer and he agreed.) I gave him control of the family's Netflix queue for the summer and got a notice yesterday that he ordered "Ben Hur," this after ordering up 5-6 other Academy Award willing films. He's that kind of person, wants to understand what made something in the past so great.
He's been working at the Waterford 3 nuclear power plant up the river as an engineering intern this summer. It's given him some solid work experience, pushing the student out into the real world a bit. Some of his reactions to that real world have been interesting to observe. He wants me to teach him how to cook more for himself, so he can be more independent of the dining hall this coming school year.
Thing is, he's not the type to sit at the computer and e-mail or IM. He'll talk on the phone, but he also knows that I'm roaming at a fairly steep price while in Europe, so he won't call. We have great face-to-face conversations, just like I do with little brother, but I'm not there for them right now. That makes me sad, even though I'll be in Amsterdam tomorrow. Even if I find something cool there to bring him back, it's not the same, today's a missed opportunity. He'll be a day older tomorrow.
Dayum, I'm so proud of him.
Happy Birthday, kiddo. You've grown up into quite the exceptional young man. Next year, we'll do Vegas for your 21st. :-)
I've entered the Freelance Writing Journal contest. They're looking for a new blogger. You can read my "application" for the gig here.
