When you become a parent you think you will do things in a certain way. Over time you adapt to the fact that life is crazy and you either drive your self insane trying to control things, you learn to roll with it or, if you are like us, you tumble through the insanity while beating yourself in the head at the same time. The hub and I are oldest, type A, get ‘er done kind of parents. We don’t wait and see, we have a plan and it’s nailed down WAAAAAAY in advance.
It makes the parent in me kind of want to vomit thinking about it.
And each time I find myself in the exact same spot stressing over the things I cannot control.
These last weeks have been no exception as she and her musician boyfriend have been working tirelessly at their real jobs and their music. They managed to turn a gig of one or two songs at the Key West Songwriters Festival into a 3-day event giving them 10 + hours of playtime. Their preparations behind the scenes have been inspiring and yet we still have managed to find some key things that they were not concerned about in the least (I know it sounds ridiculous to me even as I type these words).
I made the mistake of sharing my concerns with our daughter at an especially bad time.
In fact, I knew it was a mistake the moment I hung up the phone. I tried to rectify the situation by sending a group text to her and her boyfriend because I knew he was about to pay the price for my misstep. The boyfriend responded in such a way that I immediately knew he was buffering her from the conversation. I could almost hear him telling her, “it’s fine, I’ll take care of your mom.” Not my finest moment. So, I took the bullet, explained that I caused the additional stress, apologized, and blamed it on motherly love. He sent me a funny text letting me know it was all good and he was taking care of the “situation.” Then some time passed and I got another text from the boyfriend. While still very polite, he let me know that they appreciated my concern, but they had it under control. OUCH! He’s a middle child, too! Just sayin’.
I called my hubby immediately because I knew he was on the same page and it would be just like us to bombard them with advice on the same day. Fortunately, he answered and I told them what had happened. He laughed because for a change I was the one taking the hit. He agreed that we needed to just sit back and let it unfold without interference.
It’s a week later and they are currently in Key West. They not only arrived safely, but they even had to manage a last-minute change in their plans. Two performers who not only agreed to sing in one of their shows, but had also agreed to drive the sound equipment down, bailed on the whole thing. A mere 48 hours prior to leaving they were scrambling to find additional performers and all of the sound equipment they would need. In the end they rented a car load of equipment in Miami and drove it down Highway 1 in their rented Mustang Convertible. Not too shabby for 20-somethings that are known to have trouble getting anywhere on time.
Also, we still have a third one at home to keep us on our toes and we still rule her world!
Lowi & G 