My son: graduated and facing 2020
My older son graduated from high school last spring. Now that he’s 18, I’ll tell you that his name is Matthew. Until now, I’ve referred to him online only as Scooterman in an effort to protect his childhood privacy. You know what I can’t protect him from? The COVID-19 pandemic. Oh, I can encourage him to wash his hands and wear a mask, but I’m helpless to stop the disruption of his senior year, this summer from being the most boring one of his young life, and the uncertainty of what the fall will look like. I feel for him, I really do.
It’s unfair that we ask our barely-adult children to decide what they should do with the rest of their lives, but we routinely do. You’re out of high school, son! Now what? School? What will you study? Where should you study? How about a job? What job would you like to get? Yeah, I know a lot of people that would like to do that too. How about you cut the grass instead…?
It seems especially difficult this year. My son is very cautious. Always has been. He thinks before he speaks and he thinks before he takes action. Making decisions with incomplete information is stressful for any of us, but especially for my 18-year old son. And if there’s anything that’s true about this pandemic it’s that there’s so much we just don’t know.
So, he’s been considering what to do. Of course, as any self-respecting 18-year old, he does not seek the counsel of his father. It’s just as well. I’m not sure I know any more than he does.
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