A Wakeup Call for Mom and Dad
He�s only 16. How he ever got to be that old I�ll never know. In my mind he�s years away from college and all it entails, but the reality of how truly close this last child of ours is to this life changing step became quite apparent last week.
Lying on my desk at home last Friday was a list. The list was big. It contained the name and address of every college in the nation. From it we were to pick those that Ross was interested in attending. Those chosen would receive a compilation tape of his junior year as quarterback along with transcripts and other pertinent information.
The morning of our oldest daughter�s wedding, Ross took his first round of preliminary SATs. Just a test run at the real thing to be taken at a later date. When I inquired as to when the real thing would occur, the response was shocking. He�ll be taking the SATs for college entrance this coming spring.
As we discussed his preferences for colleges to receive his packets, it dawned on me that we�ve been kidding ourselves. He�s 19 months away from finishing high school and three short months after that he�ll be off to bigger worlds.
I�ve always heard that your last one is the hardest. I never wanted to believe that to be the case. But this child, our last baby, is very close to leaving the nest. And I�m a little perplexed at the way in which it makes me feel.
When my husband and I met, I�d had what I though would be my only two. I was content with the girls. Tom quickly latched
onto them and we blended into a family.
But Tom is 10 years my senior and I
knew that he wanted a child of his own. I was fast approaching 30 and told him I di
not want anymore after I reached that age. Two months after I made that statement we found out that Ross was on his way.
We found out that Ross was Ross about three months before he was born. He is named for my maternal grandfather, someone I consider to be the wisest and kindest of anyone I�ve known. He�d been deceased for years when Ross arrived, but I felt it an honor to have a child that carried on his name.
Ross is my third, but Tom�s first so our reactions to him were quite different. Tom was sure every sneeze and cough was significant. I, on the other hand, knew for a fact kids are pretty resilient. Unless there was blood involved I was fairly sure all was OK.
The two of them bonded immediately. A bond to this day that mystifies to me. They are the spitting image of one another. They walk the same way. They have the same speech patterns and their sense of humor is a mirror image.
When Ross was seven, he and his Dad joined Indian Guides. They had Indian names for each other, camped and did a lot of �guy� things.
Ross has always been an athlete. From the time he was two, anything to do with a ball was of interest to him. For years we�ve watched him play baseball, basketball and football. When he was 12, he and his Dad took up golf.
Four years later, they play together at least twice a week during the season. My husband sometimes shares with me their talks. It sounds like time very well spent.
As I look back over Ross�s life to date, it�s been a good one in many ways. He has a grandfather who adores him and with whom he has a close relationship. He�s a natural at so many things and, even though I�m his Mother and may be prejudiced, he�s a good-looking kid who is well-behaved.
And a kid who�s soon not to be a kid anymore. When he was born, he weighed 9 pounds, 13 ounces and was 23 inches long. The pediatrician told us then that he would be over 200 pounds and 6�4� at the age of 16. He hit it right on the nose. Ross weighs 210 and is 6�4�.
We�re taking all the necessary steps to ensure he has the best shot at the colleges on his list. I just need to work on my mental state. One day now in the not too distant future our baby is going to leave.
And in a house where there were five now will be two.
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