Young Love, and Stupidity
So I talked with Andrew again about being willing to buy him more plane tickets home. I wanted to know how many he needed. He responded with reasonable confusion and asked me how many I was thinking about buying.
I explained that I knew he was young and in love and consequently stupid. I was afraid that he might be thinking of leaving the college where he is and come back here. I was willing to buy plane tickets in order to counteract that stupidity and keep him where he belonged. He laughed, but just a little. He said he was glad that I told him, otherwise he would be thinking that seeing Alice more AND saving me money on plane tickets would both be reasons for coming back. He wanted to know if it was really such a bad idea to come back. I told him that if he wanted to major in science, business, or fine arts it would be fine. He however is interested in areas that overlap with mine. He would be taking courses from people I work with very closely. I didn't think he would be happy there. He nodded.
So I asked him again how often he wanted to come back. I assured him that I was willing to buy him tickets to come home twice during the quarter. I was afterall getting off pretty light with his education. He had a full scholarship for tuition and his grandfather-funded college fund was paying for his room and board. All I had to buy were books and plane tickets, and the tickets weren't that bad -- just one discount airline plane ride away.
He said he would like two flights home per quarter. That would mean they would see each other every 3 or 4 weeks.
I know that is still an eternity for those who are young and in love, but hopefully it is enough to keep him where he is.
Update: I did tell him that I would be willing to buy Alice tickets to spend the weekend there. He likes the idea, but has to come up with a plausible plan for where she can spend the night. I understand that she may end up spending the night in Andrew's room, especially if he can predict when he roommate will be out of town, but she can't announce that intention to her mother.
That does sound pretty good. I hope it works for them. Perhaps if he's getting really restless you could even buy Alice a ticket to go see him sometime--I know that when I was young, seeing my boyfriend at school was even better than coming home to see him.
ReplyDeleteI told Andrew I would buy her a ticket instead. He likes the idea, but he has to come up with a place for her to stay, or at least tell her mother that she is staying. They would have more quality time together, and maybe she would decide that she could apply to one of the regular (i.e. not for-profit) colleges there. Who knows.
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ReplyDeleteYou're such a good Mum. :)
ReplyDelete(Wrong account. Still getting used to Wordpress.)
Sounds like a great offer. (I started by thinking, why does she need a place to stay? and then remembered everything I've read. I hope it works out for them both.)
ReplyDeleteWow, classic example of really smart parenting.
ReplyDeleteCan I just tell you that you are an inspiration of good parenting?
ReplyDelete:) Way to go, Yondalla. I hope your kids appreciate you!
In Andrew's defense, I know plenty of people who have been old enough to know better and in love and consquently stupid, moi, included! :-)
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