I Know, I Know... You Were Right!

I wept, I carried on, and I even got invited out to lunch. And then HE called. My boy had to come to our side of town to get his hair cut ROTC style and do some shopping. I invited him to join my friend and me for lunch, which he did - he likes to be fed! While we sat there, I noticed a couple of families sitting at the table near us, and the kids were dressed in the uniforms of my son's private elementary school. Of course, I had to show him off to those moms and tell them how well all the kids out of Michael's elementary school had done getting into colleges. Then he had to do a little clothes shopping, and I suggested he come back by the house afterward so he could wash everything and not worry about it for the next week. That worked, too, and I fed him again - a meatloaf sandwich. Then my husband came home and noticed the dirty Jeep (which the son should be washing more often, but...), and the nice dad gave it a quick scrub. So, Michael went back to the dorm fed twice and adorned with new washed clothing, a shiny Jeep, and a handsome new haircut. A very good ending to my emotional morning. He just started his first college class this morning, too.

Above you see the beauty when she came home from school. My husband took her shopping this week as part of her 16th birthday present. Dads are better to shop with at the mall. Moms are looking for value; Dads are looking for the quickest way out - let's pay and go! Camille picked up some lovely new things. I'm so glad we are back to the 80's! I really don't worry about her shopping without me anymore, because I'm so familiar with the style and it's much more demure for our girls. She told me that she was walking down the math hall, and the teachers were going on about some of the girls' clothes that day at school and then saw her and grabbed her. She was nervous because we had just wondered before school if the skirt was long enough and laughed about her getting sent home for it not coming below her fingertips - public school, yes! - as she has such long arms. Anyway, the math teachers nabbed her and said, "Now this is the way EVERY girl should dress! Perfect!" So, she got to show off her GAP skirt, Hollister top, and very cool Lands' End shoes. We just saw these in an e-mail ad Tuesday morning, and I told her to get her dad to stop by Sears and try on Lands' End shoes to see what size she was at least, and then we could order them - never thinking the style had already arrived there. These are worth every single $39 that they cost. They are cute, sturdy, cushioned. (Click here to see the whole shot; the mosaic cut her off.) Much better for her feet than the trendy garbage I usually have to settle for at Kohl's or Payless, etc. Now, not always, but you know, even my 9 West pumps way back used to be comfortable. Now there is nearly nothing between the foot and the ground, and I worry for the health of her feet. But this is a happy posting, so I'll leave it there.

Thank you, my dear blog friends and my dear "real-life" friends, for encouraging me yesterday. I was very distraught and really couldn't talk myself out of it. I am happy for this forum and all of you who go before me and know: They will come home. They will do well away from us. They Will Remember To Call Their Mothers !!!!