October 29, 2008
The boy is leaving
I have a termite inspection in Waikiki today. My son will be going with me. I’ve been in pest control for almost thirty years (my three-decade anniversary in the industry will be February 1st) and he’s never seen me do what I do. No interest whatsoever in following his dear old mom, career-wise. Maybe it will work out for him to actually go into the vacant condo I’m inspecting today and watch me do an inspection. (It might not work out that way because I may need him to stay with the car to keep it from getting towed, Waikiki parking being what it is.) I’ll be retired from the industry the next time we have a chance to get together, so if he doesn’t get to watch today it will be his last chance. Somehow I think that’s okay, though. Just because he’s not interested in the actual work doesn’t mean he’s not been supportive of what I do. He’s always been his mom’s biggest fan.
His visit has been all too brief. We’ve spent each of his four days moving furniture around, painting and doing other move-related stuff. We haven’t even gotten to play the Scrabble games we usually play when he visits. Not knowing that he was coming, I’d already packed away all of the games before he arrived, so Scrabble wasn’t an option. Still, it’s been a good visit. We’ve caught up on each others lives in the evenings while watching TV and preparing dinner together. (Are any of y’all watching True Blood on HBO? Good stuff!) He still loves his job, but isn’t getting enough hours (he deals Teaxas Hold ‘Em in a casino near San Francisco, if any of you don’t know.) He frets some because he needs to lose weight and doesn’t get enough exercise. He plays disc golf on his days off and his personal life is a little complicated but seems to make him happy. Baseball is still his big passion, so we’ve had the World Series tuned in all week, of course. I don’t have much personal life to share with him - mostly it’s been stuff about moving and what I’ll do when I get to Texas - but it’s still been good to be able to share our lives face-to-face instead of online and over the phones. He’s planning on visiting me in February, by which time I hope to be settled into a new home. Maybe there won’t be so much going on then and we can find some time for Scrabble and walks and talks and all the stuff moms and sons should do when they get together, ya think?
I’ll try to get a picture of the two of us together later today and slip it in here. Rigth now I’m still in jammies and he’s in the shower, so it will have to wait for appropriate wardrobe.
[tags]family, family visits, sons[/tags]
Posted by skeet @ 9:05 am • Home & Family
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October 29th, 2008 at 11:23 am, Katie Says:
So glad you’ve had some quality visiting going on! So Texas is a sure thing? Feeling a bit bad about you leaving Hawaii, but Texas could be fun–any hints about what part? At least you’ll be closer to that boy of yours.
I’m a True Blood fan, although I can’t watch the trailer. Did you know it was based on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse vampire series? I didn’t, and should have, and am having a heck of a time borrowing the first in the series.
The pic in the jammies would have been fun, but will take a cleaned up version. Will think good thoughts for Lance.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:45 pm, Donna Says:
Sounds like you and your son had a nice time together. Even if you had all the moving stuff going on and didn’t get to play Scrabble. Maybe next time.
October 29th, 2008 at 10:36 pm, skeet Says:
Yes, I’ve committed to Texas, Katie. I have family there - near Dallas. My son lives in California. I’d go there if I could afford it, but the cost of living there is as steep as Hawaii, so Texas it is.
Yes, I knew what True Blood was before I started watching. I’ve been waitng for it since I found out about it last year, then forgot about it for a while, so it was a real treat to find it while scrolling for something to watch last week. I’ve read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books, so I was a fan before the program started. I’m enjoying it despite the “creative differences” between the show and the books.
I posted pictures of me and the kid in a separate post.