Today has been the best day so far this week. I started my day in a state of aggravation. We had so much to get done today, and I felt a bit overwhelmed. Ironically, someone inadvertently wasted our time, and this turned out to be a good thing.
Last week, a friend of a friend reached out and asked if we wanted to order tamales. They would be delivered this week. Of course! I am always up for supporting a locally owned business, especially when that involves tamales. I should have clarified what “delivered” meant. I am in the middle of a busy day of work, when I was supposed to be on vacation and proofreading a scholarship essay for Brainy Bird when I get a text message asking if we could pick up the tamales at a location thought to be fifteen minutes away from the house.
It was right about that time that both Brainy Bird and I realized that it was a bit past noon, and Little Chirp needed to be picked up from the junior high gym at noon. Brainy Bird rushed out to pick up Little Chirp. Once they returned, we decided to go pick the tamales up together and grab lunch while we were out.
The location that was “fifteen minutes away” was more than a twenty minute drive, and I got car sick on the way there. When we arrived, we got a text message saying that the person delivering our tamales was twelve minutes away. We already did not have time for all of this; we definitely no longer had time to drive to a restaurant once we picked up the tamales. I was beyond aggravated, and on the verge of throwing up.
We decided to grab a quick bite at a locally owned restaurant that was in the parking lot where we were picking up the tamales. Our lunch was both inexpensive and delicious! We had hibachi for under 12 dollars, this included soup, salad, vegetables and fried rice. I found it charming that our chef, an older gentleman wanted to get Little Chirp more fried rice after Little Chirp had eaten every bite of food on his plate. Little Chirp had just a small breakfast taco before going to play basketball for a couple of hours at the gym. By the time we sat down for our late lunch, he was more than hungry!
We finally got back to the house, and there was an initial bit of panic with all that I needed to do for work and Brainy Bird needed to do for his college applications, but both of us got through what we needed to do. Little Chirp pitched in by wrapping presents. He was super excited about wrapping Brainy Bird’s presents.
Brainy Bird worked on his research paper for one of his scholarship applications until almost ten o’clock tonight. To say that he is motivated is an understatement. I think Brainy Bird likes the change of pace. Most scholarship essays require him to write about himself. This one requires him to research and write about a topic that interests him. I think he is putting in about a thousand percent more effort than they are expecting, but I see he is enjoying it, so why not?
This year comes to an end in nine days. The new year will be eventful as Brainy Bird weighs his college options. I know what his top choices are, and I know that scholarships will drive his final decision. He truly wants to fly on his own. This means that my first choice for him is not going to be the route that he chooses. I am at peace with this. Making his own way in life is going to give him so much more than a degree from an elite university. I love seeing how confident, independent, and happy he is.