24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Jeff_O Offline OP
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
See you soon, kiddo. I'm hugging my kid goodbye as I drop her off at college. Suddenly, I'm my dad. I'm flashing between being 18, headed away from home, and being in my 50's with my last kid about to move out. It's more than a little weird.

See you soon, kiddo. My dad might literally have said just exactly that. When he did, if he did, it would've been because he was at a loss as to what the hell else to say. What DO you say? It's all been said, or else it long ago needed to be. Too late now. The love? It's already there, she knows, it doesn't need saying, albeit manifesting now as a slight hoarseness of the voice and a shyness of my eyes. Be careful out there? Have fun? Be good? Try hard? Keep your heart open so that life can... yadda yadda yadda? It's been said. It's launch time. Go time. It's....Time.

Launch time is a good way to put it, because a teenager on the verge is like a Saturn 5 rocket on the pad... still chained down, rumbling, smoke billowing across the scene, shaking the ground. They are a force of nature. Ya gotta launch them or they might just explode! So there's that: a certain necessity to the whole thing.

(And you WANT a good, vigorous, conclusive launch. I mean, you really do. Pretty much. Except the part of you who raised this kid from just a little.... rocket.... a little Estes, or one of those water-rockets we pumped up and launched in the 70's. That part doesn't want the rocket to go away.)

See you soon, kiddo? It's a question as much as a statement. It's a hope. Because, what's soon? Freakin' Thanksgiving?! It's August! "See you"? How exactly will I see you? In passing... at holidays... awkwardly... as an old man.... a grandfather..... aaaargh.

All right, all right. Pull the nose up on this thing before it craters into maudlin despair.

See you soon, kiddo. And I will! This particular kid is physically gifted, and is continuing with sports into college. As soon as she can earn field time, we'll start going to games. Maybe sooner! So I will, I hope, get to continue to marvel from afar at the perfect symmetry that is hers, athletically. The size. The strength. The speed. The aggressiveness. The coordination. The combination of those things. The desire. Most of all: the willingness to fail, very publicly, if that's what it takes to succeed. Man, you gotta love that, when you see that in a kid. And I do.

So do a lot of other people. I'm proud to say, I was wise enough to stay out of the way and let many other adults get a hand in her formation: her coaches. She's leaving a many-branched trail of heartache behind her.... as she's supposed to, I suppose. We are all adults here. Our stories are largely written. It's her turn to bat. But for those of us who love and respect her, it's a loss that will leave a mark. And there's a lot of us.

See you soon, kiddo. But I won't. This is the end of an era, no point sugarcoating it. We won't be living together anymore. I LIKE living with this kid. She's good company. She holds down her end of the teeter totter. She shines a powerful light. Next, it will shine elsewhere. That hurts, no other way to say it. I'll "see" her, but it won't be the same. And that breaks this dad's heart.

See you soon, kiddo. See you soon.


The CENTER will hold.

Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two

FÜCK PUTIN!
BP-B2

Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 15
B
New Member
Offline
New Member
B
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 15
Nice one!

Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 18,157
R
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
R
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 18,157
dropped the twins, two consecutive weekends.
best test of a parent is what type of adult the kids become and they can't do it in your house , in your town.
mine are 3 states away at rival schools.


TRUMP- GABBARD 2024
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Jeff_O Offline OP
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Ringworm, I should quit my whining... grin... she's only 2 hours away.

Sure feels like more, though.


The CENTER will hold.

Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two

FÜCK PUTIN!
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 11,263
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 11,263
Yeah ... I know.

And My last one is a senior in high school this year so ...


"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated." Thomas Paine
IC B2

Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,601
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,601
I have five ears untill I face this, been dreading it for several already.


Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,769
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,769
Jeff_O,

The last one I sent off wanted to become a veterinarian. I told him if he didn't want to destroy his hopes to stay away from the girls at least the thickness of his jeans. I guess he did. He made it and moved to another state.

He doesn't even answer his phone, but does respond to at text. frown


"Only Christ is the fullness of God's revelation."
Everyday Hunter
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Jeff_O Offline OP
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Originally Posted by RickBin
Yeah ... I know.

And My last one is a senior in high school this year so ...


She is my youngest (of two) so it's empty nest time around here.

My first kid is about to be a senior at UO, so I've done this before. This one hit me a lot harder; not because of the kid per se, but just the finality of it.

I really, really liked having my children around.

Well..... I might be on the leading edge this fall simply because her school starts so early and they wanted her there a week early for soccer 2-a-days... but I know my hurtin' heart <g> will be common all across America these next few weeks.


The CENTER will hold.

Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two

FÜCK PUTIN!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Jeff_O Offline OP
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Originally Posted by Ringman
Jeff_O,

The last one I sent off wanted to become a veterinarian. I told him if he didn't want to destroy his hopes to stay away from the girls at least the thickness of his jeans. I guess he did. He made it and moved to another state.

He doesn't even answer his phone, but does respond to at text. frown


She wants to be a doctor (anesthesiologist) which is on par with becoming a vet in terms of difficulty I hear. I don't know if she'll pull it off. She was a huge fish in this small, rural pond, academically and athletically. How she fares in a much bigger pond full of other big fish remains to be seen. But she's highly competitive. I wouldn't bet against her.

Fish... rockets.... sheesh!


The CENTER will hold.

Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two

FÜCK PUTIN!
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 115,424
Campfire Sage
Offline
Campfire Sage
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 115,424
I'm gettin' all misty eyed.




Dave


Originally Posted by Geno67
Trump being classless,tasteless and clueless as usual.
Originally Posted by Judman
Sorry, trump is a no tax payin pile of shiit.
Originally Posted by KSMITH
My young wife decided to play the field and had moved several dudes into my house
IC B3

Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,069
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,069
Jeff;
Good afternoon to you sir, I trust you're all keeping cool enough in the latest warm spell.

We went through what you're experiencing last fall and as I type she's packing her stuff up again as her Mom will be taking her to university in Victoria on Vancouver Island tomorrow.

I'd be driving down too like I did last year, but we're classic "sandwich" folks and I'm taking my Mom in for day surgery in another direction tomorrow so I get to switch from parent to offspring role instead.

There's a couple things that strike me as ironic in the whole parenting thing, the first of which is the fact we train them for freedom pretty much from the offset, all the while dreading the day it arrives.

The other is of course how much faster the ride has been than I thought it would be. I can't articulate why I'd believed it might be a bit slower than it's proven to be - but for us emphatically it hasn't.

Anyway all the best to you all and the rest of the parents taking their kids to various places away from home in the next couple of weeks. Good luck in the upcoming hunting season as well.

Dwayne

Last edited by BC30cal; 08/21/16.

The most important stuff in life isn't "stuff"

Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,769
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,769
Scott F,

I'll be pulling for her. I have a friend who was an anesthesiologist at the local hospital. One day I was talking to him about a Lexus or something and making payments. He asked,
"You have any idea what I make?"
"I guess a quarter mill maybe."
"Yep. The hospital pays me a salary of $20,000 a month."

So I hope your "diddo" can hang in there at least she will be financially rewarded.


"Only Christ is the fullness of God's revelation."
Everyday Hunter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 9,610
P
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
P
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 9,610
Yeah, I sent my son off yesterday for his sixth year. Can't wait to get him off the pay roll...maybe then I can get another deer lease. powdr

Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,371
H
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
H
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,371
I know the feeling, after a great week of working on our Montana cabin together last week,my daughter flew back to UNC for her senior year yesterday.... , my oldest son went to college in Bozeman and now lives in Bend, and our youngest is spending the winter in New Zealand before heading back to college out west. But we'll be together for hunting season and the holidays, somehow we get by.

Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,695
J
JDK Offline
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
J
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,695
My youngest graduated from a maritime academy this past May and is now 4000 miles away. I figure, as a parent, my job was to give them the confidence to go off and make it on their own. I'd like to think that they will do well.


Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Jeff_O Offline OP
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Originally Posted by Ringman
Scott F,

I'll be pulling for her. I have a friend who was an anesthesiologist at the local hospital. One day I was talking to him about a Lexus or something and making payments. He asked,
"You have any idea what I make?"
"I guess a quarter mill maybe."
"Yep. The hospital pays me a salary of $20,000 a month."

So I your "diddo" can hang in there at least she will be financially rewarded.


She loves money and nice things. smile


The CENTER will hold.

Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two

FÜCK PUTIN!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Jeff_O Offline OP
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Dwayne, well wishes back atcha.

My wife Cyn and I were reminiscing about when my oldest daughter turned 2 or 3, it just blew our minds that some far away day she was going to be in KINDERGARTEN! smile

That day turned out to be not so far away after all, and yea, it just FLIES by.


The CENTER will hold.

Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two

FÜCK PUTIN!
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 735
D
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
D
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 735
After the last one left we looked at each other for 2 weeks and it was kinda weird, then we realized Hey we are alone! Game on!


I like liberals-------------------------------------they make good bear bait! grin
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 96,121
S
Campfire Oracle
Offline
Campfire Oracle
S
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 96,121
Don't worry, once she tells her less than stellar friends about her idiot dad and his pot farm, things will get interesting again for you.


"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,529
E
EdM Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
E
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,529
I am in College Station now doing the same with my youngest.


Conduct is the best proof of character.
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
106 members (10gaugeman, 257robertsimp, 338reddog, 405joe, 10gaugemag, 10 invisible), 1,395 guests, and 690 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,589
Posts18,397,873
Members73,815
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.138s Queries: 15 (0.003s) Memory: 0.9018 MB (Peak: 1.0572 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 08:45:18 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS