This morning, my son completed the last requirement of the incredibly complicated multi-step process to join the FDNY. And now it's all over but the waiting. He said, "Unless I find out that I'm actually crazy, this should be it." We joked that he shouldn't have quit his other job before getting the results of the psych test, but I'm sure he'll be fine. His intake investigator had no doubts about him. Assuming all goes well, he'll enter the academy as an EMT in July. Soon he'll be one of those uniformed medics out on the streets in the big rig, saving life and limb. This has been his driving ambition since 9/11, when he was an idealistic, impressionable 9-year-old who couldn't believe the bravery of those firefighters. He called them heroes. I thought he would outgrow wanting to be a firefighter/medic, but he never did. He just kept taking the next step toward his dream. And now, he's on the threshold. Fingers crossed. Prayers sent. I'm so proud of him.
Meanwhile, my husband and daughter drove to Ithaca last night to pack up the last of my daughter's possessions from four years of college. My man texted me that photo before they hit the road this morning. My daughter and her housemates lucked out with housing. Most off campus student houses were neither as large nor as well located right on College Ave, with the bus outside their door. I am sure my girl will have dreams about that creaky old house for the rest of her life. But now it's on to the next stage, which includes a childhood friend's graduation barbecue in the city this evening. Onward.
Oh honey! Your babies are getting so close to the edge of the nest. They are fully-feathered with all they need to fly into their dreams. You and your man- you did that!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are right- your girl will dream of that house forever.
Yes, you and your man did that and it's a wonderful thing. The most loving and unselfish thing in the world, how parents prepare a beautiful safe warm nest for their children and then prepare their children to leave that nest and make a nest of their own. I missed your previous posts the past few, but I hear you. Mine is there in Midtown NYC, interning at a firm and living the life he has dreamed of, oddly enough, also since 9/11. That event shaped many young lives that were no where nearby at the time. He will come home in August he says, after many visits home that didn't happen at the last minute and he will bring with him a (girl) friend from school so it still won't be anything like having "him" home it will be having the man he has become pay us a visit. And how will I dress up my saltfish and fried dumpling and peas soup with provision to compete with lunch at Aquavit and Jean-Georges? Still I try to act happy and excited, even to myself, because I fear if I allow myself to wish him home, his plans will fall through somehow and fail. Imagine thinking myself that powerful.
ReplyDelete-invisigal
She was lucky in that house in so many more ways than its location...a great place to begin as a fledgling adult.
ReplyDeleteThat IS the perfect college house! And congrats to your son for sticking to his dreams and navigating all the essential bureaucracy. I know it had to have been a challenge.
ReplyDeleteYou and your husband made such beautiful and interesting children. Hoping your son's dream comes true, and your daughter finds the job she's hoping for too. This part of parenting is so strange, isn't it? The last of the growing up and out? Our daughter is home for the summer and my home is in chaos, but it's still delightful to have her here. I've missed her. Our son moves back home in 6 weeks until he figures out what next after his internship and I'm sure that will take some adjustment too, but I've missed his company and will be glad to have him here too. It's really hard for me to imagine either of my babies managing to fend for themselves financially in this economy, but I have to trust that they will figure it out, even if that means living at home much longer than my husband or I could have imagined. I'm trying to ignore the mess and the clutter and cherish the company while we have it.
ReplyDeleteHope your have many cherished moments this summer, and that the chaos and clutter simmer down or don't bother you as much....xo
Hasnt he got filmstar looks!
DeleteBless your son - the work he's preparing to enter will matter so much to those he helps. He will lose track of their faces in the flow of time and numbers of people helped, but every person he aids will remember his face - or maybe just his voice - forever.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, your daughter will always remember her years in that house! Places become such a part of our personal history.