Programmer & Dishwasher

My son is turning 14 in a couple of weeks. He's a great kid. Pretty normal for his age - messy hairstyle, messy room, into girls and making his way through the 8th grade.

Of course, he's special to me in a lot of ways ;)

Sometimes he'll walk up beside me at the kitchen sink and just start rinsing dishes for me. I always expect he'll have something to say to me, but he's usually just quiet... and returns to his room when we're done. It always makes me smile. And it seems to me he's just a little bit taller standing there beside me each time :)

He's gotten a bit of a funny streak about him lately, too. Every once in awhile he'll call me "parental unit". It really threw me off guard the first couple of times, but I finally just got used to it :p I still have no idea what it means, even after doing a quick search on Google (all I found were sites like this and this - seems to be a common term on teen blogs). I've been told it's something from a movie...

Anyway - goofy, funny teenager that he is... he is also a very bright kid. He's been studying C++ in his spare time, using the internet to figure out everything that he can. Every once in awhile he'll call me in there to show me some "way cool thing-a-ma-jig" that he can do... but it's all pretty much greek to me so I just smile and say "that's great! way to go!" :) :)

If you've ever seen the cartoon Dexter's Lab, well - that's pretty much what it's like at my house (and Ann Marie makes a really great Dee Dee haha). LOL

I'm really proud of him of course, and very impressed that he has the initiative and the drive to teach himself a programming language at 13 years old. He isnt just interested in the programming... he actually has a project in mind, and learning the language is necessary for him to turn this idea into the product he would like to develop.

We were talking about it a bit more the other day in the car. He was telling me that there is a guy in Michigan that is taking college courses... and he publishes his papers on the internet. That, and a programming forum, are the two places he gets most of his information & resources. I encouraged him, of course - and told him to let me know if there were any courses or programs or books he might need along the way...

The project itself is pretty impressive - especially that he would come up with it after being exposed to a similar model, consider the financial aspects... and begin to map out a course of action to put himself where he wants to be.

Let's just hope he doesnt get distracted by dating and driving and... well, being a teenager - at least not to the point that he forgets his dream. Fun is important too. And I dont see him lacking in that area at the moment - he's pretty much on the go. Here's hoping he can maintain that balance ;)


Of course my daughter is wonderful too, but I believe she's still in that "I want to be a rock star" phase at the moment. Nine is a sweet age... she's still oblivious to the "real world", you know ;)

Gotta love that!


As for me, I am finally starting to return to my work. Just a bit at a time, but I'm hoping I can make that transition fully by the end of this week. There is still much on my mind, and the days just sort of seem to be coming and going a little quicker than usual.