Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Missing No 2 Son


I am missing my No 2 Son. He went off to college this year, and has hardly looked back. See that big grin? He has the sunniest disposition of any one I have ever known.

If any child had a reason to grow up grumpy and needy it was him. But no, he has an innate core of happiness that no adversity has the ability to stamp out.

He had severe eczema as a baby, severe GERD, and was diagnosed with asthma before his 1st birthday. He spent every Halloween in the hospital on oxygen for several years. Starting at age 8, he suffered for two years with unrelenting stomach pain, which no treatment seemed to abate. Finally, it was decided that surgery was the only option. Much against his will we consented to major surgery
as his only hope for a reduction in his pain and a normal childhood. It succeeded!

Throughout all this he was always smiling, always good-natured, always ready to laugh, never still a minute. We used to say that when he got still it was time to go to the ER. It was true, as he isn't a complainer, a decrease in his nonstop activity was our only clue all was not well with him.

Now he is at college, on a full tuition
scholarship in engineering. He is in a 5 year program where he goes to school year round, and will have his masters when he finishes. No summers at home for our boy, and as he is 6 hours away, no impromptu weekends home.

He is working hard to keep his scholarship, he says, 12-18 hours a day. (It is a difficult program, only the best survive.)
So my thoughts and prayers are often with him, even as he is busy and I am sure happy, far from home.



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1 comment:

  1. Wow, I should look to you for some parenting advice for sure! What a great kid you have! How neat it must be to see him grow and succeed. That is definitely the goal for most parents. My mom always told us she knew she raised us right by the way her grandkids acted. It's true about college kids, too.

    Thanks for the encouragement. I hate being a downer, but since I use my blog as a journal, I think it's important to be able to go back and see how things have changed.

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