My son packed up his car and left this morning to drive to California, where he intends to live. I knew this was coming; he graduated from college last winter and came home for awhile. He had wanted to go to graduate school but unfortunately didn't get into the one program he applied to, so decided to move down to LA in the fall and "seek his fortune" as they say. He drove down at the end of August with DH (who relocated to Palm Desert again), stayed with relatives, and proceeded to look for internships, employment, and a place to live. He is interested in the film industry, graduating in film and video studies, and has done some local work as a production assistant and shot and edited a couple of music videos.
While he was in LA, he found an internship where he'll be reading and evaluating screenplays amongst other things and hopefully making contacts for future employment. He auditioned and was accepted into a pool of extras so he'll possibly get some work there. He worked on the X-Factor show when it was filming in Seattle and has contacted them about working when they film in LA in November. It's all exciting and new and a great adventure.
The problem is me. When he left for college in 2006, I was fine with it. I had another child still at home, I thought people who got upset when their kids left were weird, and he was only two hours across the state. He stayed there for four years and we saw him a few times a year and kept in touch via phone and email (mostly when he needed something). When he said he wanted to come home after graduation and stay eight months or so, I was a little worried. I have a tendency to nag and he has a tendency to collect all of the water glasses in the house in his room, sleep all day and stay up all night, etc. I didn't know how we'd get along.
Then DH decided to go to California to work last January. It worked out pretty well that Scott was here; I could go down and stay for weeks at a time in the desert and he could stay here to watch the house and the dog (and rabbit). When I was home, Scott and I went to the gym together, we ate dinner together, he worked part time for my sister, and we got along fine.
This morning after he left, I cried like a baby. It's not only that I'll miss his company, but I think it's the fact that he's starting on his grown-up life now. Sure, I'll still be supporting him for awhile, but he's moving to a big city on his own, finding an apartment and a job, and hopefully will end up with a career that he loves. These are tough times, and he's very lucky to have the opportunity to do something he's good at and he loves, even though he's not too sure how it's all going to work out at the moment. For his whole life, Scott's been the creative, funny guy. We always thought he'd go into some sort of entertainment as a career, and this is the beginning of that chance. In fact, my stepson was telling him the other day that he couldn't wait for Scott to be successful so he could quit his job and be his agent! They've been talking about that for years.
So I have to buck up and be brave. I'm proud of him and hope that things go well and he finds what he's looking for. I'll be spending as much time as I can with DH in the desert; I'd spend more time if it wasn't for the big house that we have here (not a good time to sell, ya know) and this guy:
and also the rest of the family that counts on me to do all the holidays. Which I wouldn't change for the world.
So keep your eyes open for this guy. It's only the beginning for him.
While he was in LA, he found an internship where he'll be reading and evaluating screenplays amongst other things and hopefully making contacts for future employment. He auditioned and was accepted into a pool of extras so he'll possibly get some work there. He worked on the X-Factor show when it was filming in Seattle and has contacted them about working when they film in LA in November. It's all exciting and new and a great adventure.
The problem is me. When he left for college in 2006, I was fine with it. I had another child still at home, I thought people who got upset when their kids left were weird, and he was only two hours across the state. He stayed there for four years and we saw him a few times a year and kept in touch via phone and email (mostly when he needed something). When he said he wanted to come home after graduation and stay eight months or so, I was a little worried. I have a tendency to nag and he has a tendency to collect all of the water glasses in the house in his room, sleep all day and stay up all night, etc. I didn't know how we'd get along.
Then DH decided to go to California to work last January. It worked out pretty well that Scott was here; I could go down and stay for weeks at a time in the desert and he could stay here to watch the house and the dog (and rabbit). When I was home, Scott and I went to the gym together, we ate dinner together, he worked part time for my sister, and we got along fine.
This morning after he left, I cried like a baby. It's not only that I'll miss his company, but I think it's the fact that he's starting on his grown-up life now. Sure, I'll still be supporting him for awhile, but he's moving to a big city on his own, finding an apartment and a job, and hopefully will end up with a career that he loves. These are tough times, and he's very lucky to have the opportunity to do something he's good at and he loves, even though he's not too sure how it's all going to work out at the moment. For his whole life, Scott's been the creative, funny guy. We always thought he'd go into some sort of entertainment as a career, and this is the beginning of that chance. In fact, my stepson was telling him the other day that he couldn't wait for Scott to be successful so he could quit his job and be his agent! They've been talking about that for years.
So I have to buck up and be brave. I'm proud of him and hope that things go well and he finds what he's looking for. I'll be spending as much time as I can with DH in the desert; I'd spend more time if it wasn't for the big house that we have here (not a good time to sell, ya know) and this guy:
and also the rest of the family that counts on me to do all the holidays. Which I wouldn't change for the world.
So keep your eyes open for this guy. It's only the beginning for him.
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