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Fifteen and Counting

  • Jul. 7th, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Matsuri, Wadaiko Newark
My daughter turned 15 last weekend.  She had several surprises in store for her day!  Her friends threw her a surprise party which was very nice!  Saturday, my two sisters came down from Elk Grove to help celebrate her day.  We took her to a spa where she had a facial, massage and Japanese hot tub soak.  We then took her to a hotel, went to a Japanese restaurant called Genji and then to see Hancock. The next day we went to breakfast, came home and she got the rest of her presents - which she doesn't want to open until her Dad comes back from the NEA/CTA convention.   She then got to go to the mall with her friends for the rest of the day.

Ya know, I couldn't tell if she was happy or liked her experiences over the weekend.  She had that 'I'm bored' look on her face and would smile every once in a while.  She also gave us 'spontaneous cuddles' like putting her head on our shoulders or a hug.  There was also the spontaneous statement, which was part of conversation and yet, not. My sisters and I teased her all weekend just to get a smile on her face.  I guess I was hoping she would be more animated.  She did laugh a lot during the movie.  My sisters assured me that Lele enjoyed herself and when I asked her, she said she did.  I anticipate she'll tell her friends all about it.  I guess this is along the lines of my asking my son what he did at TechCamp and he said 'nothing'.  Oh well....  I guess it's the age and I shouldn't be so wierded out about it. 

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Loosening the Mommy Strings

  • Jul. 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 AM
Matsuri, Wadaiko Newark
Once a Mom, always a Mom!  My son went to Internal Drive Tech camp this week, starting on Sunday.  The camp is located at Stanford University and he's going to be there for seven days.  He's taking the Game Mod course and will be getting a free copy of a new game at the end of camp.  He's staying in a dorm, sharing a room with someone he doesn't know and basically responsible for monitoring himself at camp.  A parent's nightmare.  He's in an environment that I have absolutely no control over. Will he get along with his peers?  The campers range in age from 13 to 17.  Will he make friends?  Will he be respectful to the counselors?  Will he be the master of his mind and not let his mind master him (think before he acts)?

He was worried that he was going to be the only African-American camper there.  Well, much to his surprise, the camp director is an African-American woman (gasp, kind of like Mom).  There were several camp counselors and a few campers checking in were African-American. So, his 'fears' were allayed immediately.

Richard wanted his sister, Lele, to help take his bags up to his dorm room, not me.   When he came back down, he asked me what he should do next.  At that point, I decided to let him figure out how to work in his new 'community', told him to ask the camp director and said good bye.  He did and, as I was leaving, saw that she had him 'in tow'.  It was difficult to let go.

I've not heard from him and wonder how he is doing.  I am resisting the temptation to go and find out, after all, Stanford is just down the street!
  • Location:Intern Room
  • Mood: curious
  • Music:960 Quake Radio

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