Letter of Gratitude to my Son, who constantly teaches me a
lesson on unconditional love, endless surprises, and laughter, per RX by Dr.
Richard Carlson, Author. “Don’t Sweat
the Small Stuff….and it is all small stuff.
Last Week at a late
lunch meet:
“Hey Mom, I was called for a group interview to work at this
most awesome clothing hipster store in G-town.”
-Cool! What did they ask you?
“All kinds of stuff, and there was this annoying girl who kept interrupting the interview. Like the
manager asked me if I can close some nights and this girl said, “I can because
I live nearby.” I thought maybe I bombed
because I waited until she is done with the answers to questions posed
to me. And you know I did not have any clothing retail experience but I told
them I will learn. So I just waited
until she is done telling the Manager about herself then I spoke.
-That is nice that you gave her a chance to hang herself.
Aside: I would have
slapped the idiot bitch. (Primal Parenting)
Four days ago:
“Mom, I got called back for a one-on-one and it looks like I
have an 85% chance. They want me to come
back for a photo session on Monday.”
-For an ID perhaps?
“No, to make sure I have the looks, you know, the look that
they want! The CEO is picky how his employees look”
-Interesting…but what about the annoying hijacker?
“Oh the Manager did not like her, I was told. She said I was very professional and that I was
honest to tell her about my transportation issues.
-Who told you this?
“There were some guys working in the store who told me.”
-Oh, you have connections?
“No but this one girl, she saw me there and put in a good word for
me. She said the Manager also liked my
look.”
-Oooooh.
“After my interview, I met up with my former coworkers at K
Street. Mom, listen. “ They said, “What in the hell, where've you been dressed
up like THAT?” I told them where and they said, “Dude, they had better hire you! You got their look!”
This is the look:
Bright squash goldish/yellowish skinny jeans, button down shirt that shows off the a
svelte twenty year old ABS(beer belly in the distant future), expensive leather
loafers, sky- blue socks, sky blue thin necktie, eyeglasses.
My heart stopped as I imagined "the look" then I gave him a high five, -Dude, they had better
hire you! You got THE look!
Two days ago:
“Hey Mom, I got the job!”
-That is excellent! Congratulations!
We and his extended family went to dinner to celebrate. His teen-aged cousins were excited. "We like that store! Cool!"
Parenting Note: My
kid told me later on the drive home, “Mom, getting through the interview and being able to pass it and
be chosen made me feel that I am OK, that there is something about me they
liked and I feel validated.
That tugged at my heart. His generation was often told that
they are doing an “excellent job” for an above average result and “super job” for a mediocre job. When these kids go out in the world, they are
finding that they are no longer the superstars they believed they were when
they were being coddled at school and at
home.
As parents, we try to
keep our children grounded so we tend to raise the bar higher and they get
confused because their self-worth was tied to all the “Super!” “Excellent!”
stickers and marks they got from school
to camp to the video game they play. We dole out tough love and tell them that
they still have lots of room to grow and develop and improve. Sometimes, that means telling them
NO.
His charisma worked once again. I am confident that someday the “look” will be
more conservative with just a flash of trendiness. I am glad that he is finding his way, one hiccup at a time, and when he does, he feels he can share it with me, good or bad. "My job is to put you back in the right path when you detour off your route."
Oh before I forget - the girl who gave a good word for him –
she and he are hanging out to dinner at the
end of the week.
“Mom, do you have a recommendation for some cheap eats in
China Town?
Nice to know his Mom’s recommendations still count in a
major way, no less.
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