The beginning of Shark Week landed on Carter's birthday. Well, that is a cause for great celebration in this house of Shark Week lovers.
Since he worked so hard on the firepit/patio and it the weather was going to be nice, I thought it would be a fun idea to rent a projector and screen and show JAWS.
It was so much fun watching a movie outside! Except for the jiggly picture which they couldn't quite get to stop, once you got past that...it was like a backyard drive-in theatre.
With popcorn and pretzel candies of course.
On the inside for anyone who needed to use the bathroom or escape the mosquitoes I kept the TV on so no on would have to miss a minute of a shark attack, seal attack or Air Jaws!
Lots of laughs on the deck with his friends. Not everyone was paying close attention to the movie!
For all of his backbreaking, sweaty work over this firepit, I am happy to see this scene. Carter and his friends, warm summer night, sparklers and memories.
A few days later we headed to Maine for our annual beach trip. What a difference a year makes. Last year my heart was so heavy I thought I would not recover from having this happy boy leave the house and go to college in the Mid-West. ( http://marthathinks.blogspot.com/2012/08/hes-missing-shark-week.html) I couldn't figure out where my own "true north" would be since he has been the child who's even temperament has been a neutral force in the house. His sense of adventure, helpfulness, humor and smile lifts us all. As he so perfectly put it this summer "Mom, you can never be mad at me" and I said "I can get mad at you, but I can never stay mad at you." And that's pretty much our relationship.
But something does happen that lets you release a little easier sophomore year. Yes it does. You see how happy they are to get back to school. You realize that you made it, too, and they think of where you are as home. That the high school gang are forever friends, taking up right where they left off at the beach, amusement parks and just hanging out.
But now their worlds have opened up, just like in The Truman Show opening the door to a whole other world. New friends lives pinging off of theirs. New moms and dads that you've never met that now know your kid's name. That he now has friends in Atlanta and Orange County. That he's planning on a semester abroad in Spain junior year. It is the life I dreamed for him, all coming true.
He's 19 and living in a "quad" with 3 friends. We went to IKEA to buy a futon, his donation to the space. He took a photo in the store and sent to his roomie/ friend "Soc" who is providing a refrigerator. I bought an inexpensive painting at a yard sale and he asked if he could have it for his wall at school. They are giddy with excitement for the adventure of the new year. And he is still sharing it with me.
We are planning to drive out to see him in October. And he said "everyone wants to meet Mrs. Salz." Now that is a gift, better than Christmas.
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