March 16, 2006

Spring break lunch

My daughter, my niece, and I all have the same spring break so yesterday we had a spring break lunch with my parents, who are retired and have all the time in the world for lunches out. With the thought of spring in mind, we had intended to drive out to the lake to a restaurant that has big windows overlooking waves and wildflowers. But since it was cold, windy, and snowing like crazy, we opted instead for lunch at a restaurant in the next town over, a cosy place with a fireplace and big comfy booths.

My Beautiful Smart Wonderful Daughter talked about her classes and her plans to spend a semester in London next year. Schoolteacher Niece, who is in graduate school in the Big City Unlike Any Other City, talked about how much she loves living in the city. We drilled her with questions about her new boyfriend, whom none of us have met yet. My parents reminisced about their experiences in the Big City. We talked about family members not at the table: Boy in Black was just awarded a full merit scholarship for college (apparently going to an interview dressed as Johnny Cash did not hurt him at all), and of course we had to talk about how smart he is, and how handsome, and how wonderful. I come from a family who believe in bragging about other family members, to each other and to anyone who will listen.

We talked about plans for the summer, we talked about what gorgeous hair Shaggy Hair Boy has, we talked about the trip my boys took with my husband in February, we talked about Blonde Niece and how well she has adjusted to school. We ate salads, sandwiches, and french fries, then lingered over coffee and herbal tea. My parents joked about how cheap it is to take three vegetarians to lunch. In the parking lot, I hugged Schoolteacher Niece goodbye, and she promised that I would get to meet the new boyfriend in May. My parents drove my daughter home, while I left for an appointment in another part of town. I knew my mother would call this morning to say how much she enjoyed the lunch and to tell me again how wonderful my daughter is – so poised, so confident, so articulate. Some things I never get tired of hearing.

24 comments:

RageyOne said...

Congrats to Boy in Black! Kudos to you as well on doing such a wonderful job with your children

JM said...

hooray for Boy in Black!

Jane Dark said...

Yay, Boy in Black!

Coffee-Drinking Woman said...

Hooray for Boy in Black!

Scrivener said...

Congrats to BiB. Told ya there was no reason to worry about that haircut.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Boy in Black!!

Musey_Me said...

Yay for Boy in Black. Your family is awesome! On really hectic days I always think of running away to be an extra at jo(e)'s house.

halloweenlover said...

I'm so proud of Boy in Black!!! Good for him! HURRAY!

So is he going to be far away? Farther than your wonderful daughter?

Bitty said...

I envy your being near family all the time. On the other hand, those of us who only see family occasionally REALLY enjoy them when we see them.

Boy in Black rocks, and so does his mother.

You can brag all you want to us; we love listening to it.

jo(e) said...

Halloweenlover: The scholarship that Boy in Black was awarded is the same scholarship that his sister holds. So they will be in college together, at Snowstorm University. That means he will be living about ten miles from our house -- and on a campus that is within walking distance of the college where I teach.

The scholarship includes room and board so he can live in a college residence hall and feel like he's left home, while still being close enough to come home whenever he wants.

He is waiting to hear about other scholarship offers too but I think this is the one he will choose. I don't think he is willing to take out loans to go to a more prestigious school when he can go to Snowstorm University for free.

Rob Helpy-Chalk said...

Horay for Boy in Black!

Snowstorm University has an excellent philosophy department, if he is interested in such things.

I like how you causally pass of this information about college in the course of a post that is alegedly about lunch.

Mona Buonanotte said...

Boy in Black rocks! Nice that he'll be so close and yet, so independent. You're a lucky mom!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hooray for the Boy in Black! Snowstorm University for free!

Maybe the Johnny Cash costume helped.

zelda1 said...

Great news for your son. Sometimes it pays to walk the line. HAHA. good job on raising a really good bunch of kids.

jo(e) said...

Queen of West Procrastination: Maybe it did. He said in the interviews one of the professors said to him, "Nice threads."

Rob: Boy in Black was interviewed by a group of faculty, and he kept saying that he really liked the professor from the philosophy department. "No matter what I said, he would come up with a question to make me think it through farther." He loved that. So perhaps some philosophy will be in his future.

ccw said...

Congratulations to Boy in Black!

I love that your family praises one another. I imagine you all have great self-esteem.

Yankee, Transferred said...

Boy in black totally rocks! I wonder what the parents who thought you were too permissive all those years think now???? Good for you! I'm just praying Older Daughter gets some money to go somewhere. You must be so proud! I'm glad your family loves bragging about the kids. It's good for everyone!

Rana said...

Huzzah for Boy in Black! :)

The Humanity Critic said...

That's great news, you have reason to be proud..

Anonymous said...

I'm celebrating with you on all counts :->.

Liz Miller said...

Hooray for BiB! And for your whole family.

purple_kangaroo said...

How wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to Boy in Black! I think it's wonderful that y'all are so supportive as a family :).

Anonymous said...

Yeah for Boy in Black! How cool!

SuperB