The Nest Is Half Full

Time flies.  Engineering Guy is home after finishing his first year of school.  He is more convinced than ever that engineering is the right program for him.  He's signed a lease with five friends for next year.  We picked him up a week and a half ago and he is lucky to be one of the few of his friends to have a full time job for the summer.  He'll be able to live at home so that's great.

Computer Dude was home for the weekend.  He has just finished a four month co-op term and tomorrow he'll head back to school for four months.  He loved this co-op job but is also excited to go back to school.  This will be his first term at school in the summer (in a house with no A/C) to boot so he'll see how he likes being on a campus that's much quieter than he is used to.

Letting Go

Engineering Guy did a lot of growing up this week and I found out how difficult it is to watch your kids struggle from a distance.  A friend of the Guy's started acting ill on Sunday.  He was convinced by friends to seek medical attention but was released from hospital.  His friend's were told to "make sure he eats and drinks properly".  Eighteen year old boys only have so much control over each other.  By Monday night the boys had gone through their friend going missing,  having to make the decision to alert authorities, having him found and hospitalized.  Then they had to make the difficult decision to call his parents (who they had never met) and inform them.  It turned out well for everyone as the friend is now on the mend at home.  Engineering Guy informed me last night "We decided we're to young to deal with stuff like this".  As a parent I'm still shaking because the outcome could have been so very different if these kids hadn't been so persisting in trying to get their friend help, and making the hard decisions to do what is right - not what is easiest.  To say I'm proud of him is an understatement.  We had already planned to go down and visit him for the weekend.  Now I can't wait to just give him a huge hug.

Good-Bye to a fine young man

Today was the funeral for Engineering Guy's friend.  DNA results finally came back last week.  What they think happened was that he got stuck in the snow after leaving the party, when he couldn't dig himself out he went back in the vehicle and kept it running to stay warm.   I suppose he felt he couldn't call for help because he wasn't supposed to be there in the first place.  Unfortunately the tailpipe was buried in snow and he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The minister used the sermon to charge the young people there with looking out for one another so this type of tragedy doesn't have to happen again.  I think the message will stick - at least for awhile.  Two hockey teammates (one of whom was a teammate to Engineering Guy) gave very eloquent eulogies as they shared stories of growing up together.  I was proud of those two young men as they did something that nobody that age should have to do.  Engineering Guy is too far away to attend but I know this has affected him quite deeply.

Jen - we are going to the Galapagos for our trip.  It's a place I have always wanted to visit.  I figured I better go now before I become too old and doddery!

Engineering Guy will not be homeless next year.  This is a relief to all of us (especially him).  I thought it was early days but he was getting stressed.  This week he and five of his closest friends have signed a lease on a house two minutes from campus.  They were getting quite worried because most of the houses they viewed were real dives (and I'm not sure how bad it has to be to be a dive to 18 year old boys).  Engineering Guy is particularly excited because they have other friends moving into the street.  This apparently means they will be able to go to parties without hosting them.  I guess that is a good thing?

Computer Dude is loving his computer job.  Particularly he is loving getting a paycheck.  Unfortunately he has to deal with the more mundane adult things such as his lost cell phone - buying a new one and getting his account transferred before someone calls China on it.

To celebrate our 20th anniversary (which was 2 years ago) and successfully getting two kids through high school and out of the house Engineering Dad and I have booked a trip.   We are going in May..........Someplace I've always wanted to go.

New Purchase

I sent Engineering Dad to the store today to purchase a crockpot made for two.  Our family size crockpot is far too large to make meals for two.  I now have squash soup simmering away in my two quart crockpot.

We drove down to take Computer Dude out for lunch and took him a bunch of baking.  He enjoyed the first week of his co-op job despite the commute of an hour each way.  Last term was pretty intense for him so I think he is glad to have a four month break.  We'll see how much he enjoys going to school all summer for the first time in his life.

Sadness

Engineering Guy is having a hard time with the death of his friend.  DNA test results are not back yet but it seems the only plausible scenario.  He hasn't had to endure tragedy in his young life and although he and Wes only saw each other once or twice a year in recent years it still struck close to home.  Also Wes' dad was the Guy's hockey coach the year they played together and he was VERY good to my Guy.

Near as they can figure, he left a New Years Eve party, decided to "borrow" the van that belonged at the house and drove off.  At some point he pulled off to the side of the road and probably lit a cigarrette and fell asleep.  All very out of character for this young man I'm told.

In better news he got his first semester marks back and did very well.  He was in the top 3% of his physics class.  Sadly, I will have to admit that his physics brain did NOT come from his mother.  Ironically he is worried about physics this semester.  From what my non-engineering brain can understand it's because last semester they worked with things they could see.  This semester it's electricity and other invisible stuff. On general principle Engineering Guy is not in favour of anything that can't be seen.

Double post

Well I can't figure out how to get rid of it.  In my defense Blogger told me that neither post posted.