Haven’t posted in a while – life is BUSY, y’all. Between work, Hallmark, the podcast, my kids, a small volunteer side-hustle and lots of other little things, every waking hour of my day seems full – even when I’m just sitting on my sofa watching a movie with CG!
But this post is going to be strictly about my kids. I haven’t talked about them much lately, but I’m going to now because I’m going to brag on them.
First up, CootieGirl
She turns 17 in just a few short months and in the past year has become the most amazing girl – I’m proud to call her my daughter. In the past year, she turned sixteen, got her driver’s license, bought a car, and got her first job. She stuck with that first job throughout the whole season (May-December) AND told them she would like to come back. They said yes, please, and so she heads back in February for a one-day refresher training and then will be on the schedule beginning in March.
She has learned to be responsible with money and while she splurges on makeup and art supplies, she also puts money into savings for future car repairs or other emergencies. She is quick to ask permission to go out somewhere, and I am quick to give permission, knowing that the day will come sooner rather than later than I’ll get nothing more than, “I’m going out!” before she heads out the door with a wave and comes back whenever she wants.
After a couple of years of debate as to what she wants to do after high school, she has finally decided upon 1) a major/minor to pursue and 2) the school she wants to attend. She will attend a local community college for the first two years and then transfer to a local private college so that she can live at home and only pay tuition. The good news is that by doing that, her 529 plan will cover almost 100% of those last two years of school, which means she will graduate debt-free if she gets her degree in four years. She has come up with a way to have TWO career paths once she graduates so that she has more options available when the time comes to seek full-time employment.
All in all, I couldn’t be more proud of her. We joke that we are best friends (although I always tell her that, for now, I’m her parent first, friend second), and I truly think that once she reaches adulthood we WILL be true friends. We get along so, so well and rarely argue, and even when we do it usually ends in laughter. From what I can tell she is transparent with me in almost everything and every evening we hang out for a few minutes alone and talk about our day. I love that girl.
As for Cootieboy
He’s at a stage now where he wants nothing to do with his parents, but I can still find things to brag about. He turns 16 this summer and will hopefully obtain his learner’s permit sometime soon (my goal is for him to have it before spring break), with plans to buy a car soon after he gets his driver’s license. He has no idea what he wants to do as a career, although his most recent idea was to do computer simulations/virtual reality stuff. He continues to do well in the honors program at school and recently scored well enough on his PSAT as a sophomore that he’s getting introductory mail from schools like Brown University, Rensselaer Poly, and West Point just to name a few.
He has also said that he will attend a local community college for the first two years and then transfer, but he’s not sure where he’ll go for those last two years of school. It will all depend on what he wants to study, and what career he chooses. He mentioned the idea of living at home so he only has to pay tuition, but it’s likely that he’ll need to live on campus if he chooses a school like Clemson or the University of SC (those are both just far enough away (1.5-2 hrs’ drive) that being a commuter student makes no sense).
He is very musical and has perfect pitch (which amazes me). He did well playing piano for a couple of years in elementary school, then played trombone throughout middle school and now is taking guitar in high school. I finally got to hear him play a bit of what he’s learned in the first few weeks of the semester and I’m already impressed. The kid is a natural musician. And it would not surprise me in the least if he became quite proficient in guitar only to then decide he wants to learn how to play the drums.
He can be prickly and caustic, sarcastic and reactionary, but he can also be extremely sweet and affectionate (when no one else is around to witness it, of course). He is very much the type of kid to show his stiff upper lip, but in rare moments of vulnerability, you can see that lip trembling with emotion. He also has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh all the time.
I get a sense that over the next year he’ll do a lot of maturing as he gains more responsibility with his driver’s license, car ownership and getting a job. I look forward to seeing how obtaining freedom through that responsibility plays out for him. I love that boy.
