The Prodigal Returns

So he’s home, and he’s happy, and here’s a picture of him in our crappy kitchen.

I’m so proud.

Apparently he was the chaperone’s dream– he was the kid that got stuck with the nightmare roommate (the one whose conditions were all medicated acronyms, and who had to be looked for at three in the morning when they had to leave at seven a.m.) and he was the kid that A. the chaperones could see and call to him B. would stop and listen, and C. paid attention to the other people around him and helped keep the party together. It occurred to me as they were saying all these nice things about him that parents don’t get too many opportunities after high school graduation to hear their spawn praised like this, and so I savored it.

The thing he was pressured into buying for nearly a quarter of his Euros was actually a table cloth– factory made, ivory faux damask–and a part of me wants to keep it and a part of me really thinks my stepmom will use it better. Mostly, my reward was having my boy back safe and happy and full of stories. He sat across from me this morning and told me Europe stories for a good hour this morning. It was nice–and he seems so confident and so self-assured. *sigh* That’s my baby. I’m so glad he got to do this. It was worth it… (or it will be if we can pay off the traffic ticket of Damocles with the next royalty check!)

In fact, this blog posting was just interrupted by Mate, who wanted to show me Big T’s pictures… *sigh* I tried to get him to wait until Big T was AWAKE and could walk us through himself, but Mate was too excited. Mate likes going places– me too, but Mate keenly feels the travel restrictions brought on by a four child budget. He was proud of our boy too–for one thing, T took A LOT of pictures–and some of them were really great. It’s such a trip to see your kid in pictures of someplace far away, when you weren’t there to hold his hand.

And in other news?

Living Promises might not (don’t quote me on this) but it MIGHT NOT suck. *whew* I was seriously worried– but a couple of people have e-mailed me with feedback, and a few nice folks have gone on goodreads and said it doesn’t suck– I might be able to relax just a smidge. Uhm… yeah… not happening. I’ve got a clash of deadlines right now– book due on the 11th (and that’s extended) edit due on Friday and a little bit of admin homework due tomorrow. I spent all day playing with the kids trying to earn my three or four hours to work… it didn’t work so much. I’ll try again tomorrow–but, if nothing else, trying to keep them busy is making sure I can sleep through the heat! (Well, so does the AC.)

So I’m staying up late tonight–I’ll try to check blogs tomorrow… *sigh* I miss the old blogging days– I really loved it when I checked everybody’s blog every day… *whine*

But I’m pleased so far by the feedback– it’s lovely to get. I’m so grateful that I was able to do justice to a story that so many of you loved–thanks for letting me know that it didn’t suck!

Amy