As a parent, I seem to be at odds with my children lately. The oldest is graduating and does not want an open house, does not even want to invite anyone. The youngest seems to be oozing crappy attitude. I am trying to figure out how to be a good parent to these two.

The oldest is 18 (nearly 19) and as Master has pointed out, is his own man and has the right to make his own decisions. I need to let him do that, and take the responsibility for them. I need to trust that I have taught him well to this point, and let him do the right things.

The youngest, well, I’m not sure. Just when I think his “being sick” is an effort to get out of things, he throws up. To make matters worse, he tells the principal rather than his track coaches. The coaches weren’t happy because the principal substituted another kid for my son. My son didn’t think there was time to track down a coach. I’m sure my son feels like he was screwed no matter what he chose to do.

And as a mother? What’s the best response? Damned if I know.

My younger son M had a concert Monday night. Now, I wasn’t expecting anything really out of the ordinary. To save on gas, I stayed at the school, and he rode the bus back after track practice. When he arrived, I could tell something wasn’t right. M said he didn’t feel well. He had a headache and stomach ache.

He laid down on the floor of a classroom and literally fell asleep. We have no nurse’s office or bed for sick students to rest in. Anyway, after he slept for ½ hour, I got him up and had him change for the concert. I talked to the band director about what was going on, and during the concert I kept an I on him to make sure he was okay. He looked a little peaked, but other than being perhaps a little out of sync on the trapset, he seemed to do okay.

After the concert, he seemed more himself. He was more alert and even said he was hungry. It’s nice to be back and normal.

My oldest son was honored on Sunday, along with 389 other high school seniors, as a Governor’s scholar. I am still trying to track down exactly how they are chosen. I know the school nominates the students, but I don’t know what the criteria is or who, exactly did the nominating. When I find out, my son will write an appropriate Thank You note. Anyway, we went to a ceremony on Sunday.
Registration started at 12:30 pm. A picked up his registration packet and filled out his name card so the announcer could correctly pronounce his name. A has a very ethnic middle name, and he chose not to have it said. Oh, well. His choice.
The ceremony started at 1:30. Before it began, A found a seat in the section reserved for the honored students, while his brother M and I found seats to watch the event. I scanned the program and found other students from our part of the state. I also saw that the Master of Ceremonies was the head of a speech organization that I am involved with. I managed to sneak away and greet him before the festivities commenced.
There were four speakers during the ceremony. The program is sponsored by the high school athletic association and the state farm bureau. The head of the athletic association congratulated the students for excellence both on the athletic field and in the classroom and encouraged them toward continued excellence. The head of the farm bureau, in addition to congratulating the students , spent a lot of time talking about the great things the farm bureau does for the youth of our state. They even showed a movie clip about their activities. Okay, they are funding the program. I guess they are entitled.
Next the teacher of the year spoke about the importance of the little things you do and how they make a difference. Finally, the governor, a former educator himself, spoke. He congratulated the students , spoke briefly of the events at Virginia Tech, where he attended school, and encouraged the students to stay in our great state and apply their talents here.
Then each of the students walked one at a time across the stage and had their picture taken shaking hands with the governor. That was a VERY LONG part of the ceremonies. 390 kids. I knew maybe 2-3 of them.
During that less then stimulating hour of time, I wondered how Master would deal with the dulldrums. He would definitely be respectful of the importance of the event. But, oh, what a long afternoon it was.
We did not stay for the reception afterwards. We had a four hour drive home, not counting stopping to eat, fill up with gas, etc. And A needed to get home to work on his online class.
Despite the long day, we appreciated the honor given.

I am not a fan of road trips. I consider them a necessary evil. Since I live 4 ½ hours away from my family, I make several road trips each year. This weekend, I made another.

My son was receiving an award in Des Moines, which just happens to be near my father’s house, so we stayed overnight there. Due to my son’s work schedule, we were unable to leave for Des Moines until late Saturday afternoon. The program was Sunday afternoon, so we left for home at about the same time.

This makes for a long trip. I wondered on the way back home, the second 4+ hour drive in 24 hours, What Would Bennet Do? How would he prefer I handle this.

Well, he certainly wouldn’t want me to whine. Was I whining? No, not really. I simply was recognizing the fact that this drive was not something I enjoyed. I didn’t complain or obsess about it.

Master’s main concern would be that he would want me to be safe. On a drive that long, fatigue can easily set in. So I knew that I needed to stay alert and careful while driving. As Master has said, he needs me whole.

So, I spent the time trying to do what Master would want. As a result, you could say I spent the trip with him.

I found the following article interesting:

"Women's town" to put men in their place
Thu Apr 26, 9:04 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese tourism authorities are seeking investment to build a novel concept attraction -- the world's first "women's town," where men get punished for disobedience, an official said Thursday.
The 2.3-square-km Longshuihu village in the Shuangqiao district of Chongqing municipality, also known as "women's town," was based on the local traditional concept of "women rule and men obey," a tourism official told Reuters.
"Traditional women dominate and men have to be obedient in the areas of Sichuan province and Chongqing, and now we are using it as an idea to attract tourists and boost tourism," the official, surname Li, said by telephone.
The tourism bureau planned to invest between 200 million yuan ($26 million) and 300 million yuan in infrastructure, roads and buildings, Li said.
"We welcome investors from overseas and nationwide to invest in our project," he added.
The motto of the new town would be "women never make mistakes, and men can never refuse women's requests," Chinese media have reported.
When tour groups enter the town, female tourists would play the dominant role when shopping or choosing a place to stay, and a disobedient man would be punished by "kneeling on an uneven board" or washing dishes in restaurant, media reports said.
The project, begun in the end of 2005, was expected to take three to five years to finish.
My comments:
In the world of bdsm that I am familiar with, usually it is the male who is dominant, the female submissive. Understand, I am not saying this is the only way, or even the best way to go. It just seems to be the most common. So I found this article interesting, in that the women were dominant.
Beyond that, I see that these investors are capitalizing on the bdsm fantasies of people, some of whom may not realize that they are interested in bdsm. People may think it sounds “interesting” and open themselves up to a whole new world, as it were.
One thing I questioned, however, was whether any woman could discipline any man? Personally, I wouldn’t want just any man to have the right to discipline me. I am special, and as such I give the right of authority to only one, someone I deem worthy, someone as special as I am.
It looks like it will be a while before this town is up and running. When it is, I would like to know how it does. How popular is it? Are there a lot of takers? And as a point of interest, will there be a Man’s Town counterpart? hmmmmmmmm