They grow up so fast. I imagine that I am not the only mother who could not wait until they could tie their own shoes, be glad when they are old enough to go to school, wondered who the brilliant person was that invented little league sports or could never understand how such a skinny little body could have so much energy or talk so much. Then suddenly, they are graduating from high school.
Wesley, my first born and known as Wes, was somewhat like living in the middle of a whirlwind. When he learned to walk, he could only run. When he learned to talk, he was never quiet. As he went through twelve years of school I watched him turn into a pretty amazing kid. He became a fantastic artist even though he would only draw race cars or drag strip layouts. He was highly intelligent but did not have time for homework. He was involved in soccer, baseball, speed skating and bicycle motor cross. He made friends easily and seemed to survive four moves across the country and four different school systems.
There were lots of girl friends but a few months before the Senior Prom he had been dating a girl named Michelle that I have to admit Wally and I really liked. When he brought her home for dinner she actually ate and talked and laughed. That was a pleasant surprise over some of the other ones that came to dinner. We really fell in love with her when I cooked Passover dinner for Charles, and she loved all the food even though she was not Jewish.
The Prom was at a huge hotel in Detroit and my favorite picture I have of Wes is the one where he is giving Michelle her flowers. How did this boy I had chased around the front yard with a broom, made numerous trips to schools to talk to teachers and principals, took to the emergency room more times than I can remember or would force himself to throw up after breakfast so he did not have to go to school (it never worked) turn into this dashing young man?
I had no idea what time Wes got home from the Prom, but his car was in the driveway when I got up. I tiptoed upstairs to check on Wes and Wally and much to my surprise there was Michelle asleep in Wes's bed in one of his t-shirts. Wally was in his bed but no Wes. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I found Wes asleep in the basement. Wally and I heard how much fun they had at the Prom during breakfast then Wes took Michelle home in some of my clothes. Guess times had changed since I went to a Prom as I would have been dead showing up the next morning in someone else's clothes.
After school was out and graduation was over Wes settled into working at the skating rink close to our house. He and Wally made a few trips to see their Dad in Cleveland, then Wally went off to summer camp. The big surprise of the summer was the day my college roommate, Cathie rolled up in our driveway unannounced. Having her around was always a happy time for us all. Wes had been in love with Cathie since he was five years old. When he was about twelve and she came to visit us in New Jersey she would pick him up after school and whisk him off to a drugstore where they would eat M & M's and drink cherry cokes. His friends lined the sidewalk at school to see the beautiful blonde that took Wes out every afternoon.
One evening Charles wanted to take us all out to dinner and since Cathie was a vegetarian we went to a vegetarian restaurant. Wes was not happy with the choice of places to eat but he was always at his best when Cathie was around. He ordered something that required mustard which arrived in a small bowl but was not quite the color of mustard he was used to. He rather loudly inquired if they had any American mustard. He did not have the chance to get an answer as Cathie told him in a very sweet voice to put some on his beautiful lips and try it. He ate all the mustard without a complaint. I think Charles became quite smitten with Cathie that same evening, but I had learned many years before that she had that effect on everyone.
One weekend late that summer Wally, Charles and I went camping with a warning to Wes that there was to be no party while we were gone. That fell on deaf ears. When we arrived home the house looked too clean. A trip to the basement revealed two huge garbage sacks full of beer cans and liquor bottles. Too bad they cleaned but forget to take the trash out. Upon quizzing the next door neighbor I found out it had been a weekend of young people coming and going. I asked why he did not call the police and he said that with Michigan law about teenagers and parties I could have been arrested.
I guess I lost it and called his Dad to come and pick Wes up. He was scheduled to start college at Kent State in a few weeks, so it was not that big of a deal. When Wes got home that evening I told him I knew about the party and that his Dad was coming to get him the following weekend. I guess he was grown up enough to realize he was not supposed to have a party and now he had to face the consequences. He left on good terms with me which made the whole thing a lot easier.
I learned several things having Wes around that year. First, as a parent you will worry about them their entire life. Graduating from high school or college or going out on their own or getting married does not change that.It is a parent thing. Second, I learned what a good kid Wes really was. For all the silly slip ups he had made that year and how upset he was when I divorced his Dad he realized that I was still Mom. I realized how really lucky I was.
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