I am the mother of two wonderful college-age children living and attending schools in upstate New York. No, not the city – about 6 hours from it. There are rolling hills, farmland and forests, the Adirondack Park, ever-growing windmill farms, and country air.
My eldest child, Ryan, is a senior at Utica College, majoring in Criminal Justice. Since Kindergarten, he has wanted to be a cop. I have a newpaper clipping of his Kindergarten Halloween parade where the class was asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ryan, dressed as a vampire, stated….a policeman. Ryan was and is my “huggy child”…he likes to be hugged – he likes to give hugs. The kid is 5’12″ tall and is lean and mean. He works out daily at the gym. He is a people person. Being in law enforcement, he said, is his calling – he loves helping people. He has been through the boy stages of snowmobiles and dirtbikes – taking his toll in wrecks on both….Live and learn the hard way sometimes. The things that keep a mom on the edge of her seat! He has played sports – football being #1. I had hoped he would continue to play at college, but he thought that his devotion needed to be academics….and he said that he wasn’t quite big enough (though is is lean and wirey – but FAST). He was a stellar basketball player. I could watch him play either sport forever! I miss those days! Ryan was the kid who collected the Ninja Turtle figurines, LOVED and owned the movie, ET….wanted to watch it over and over, if allowed!
My daughter, Julia, is a junior at The State University of New York at Albany, majoring in Environmental Science, minoring in Biology. Since she was just about old enough to walk, that child has been tromping through every mud bog that existed in Madison County…..collecting specimans to observe and release. This child diligently worked (with adult assistance), as a 2nd grade student, to collecting turtle eggs during the rainy seasons in spring (May) from nests that were dug and laid by Momma turtles in the cinders along the railroad tracks. She would take a pail with paper towel, a permanent marker, and a small shovel. She and her dad would very carefully dig up the turtle’s nest, place a small black dot on the “this side is up” end of each egg using the marker, and carefully nestle each egg into the paper towel inside the pail. She then transported the eggs to the backyard, dug another hole, and very gently placed each egg, black dot side up, into the shallow hole. She then carefully covered the eggs with soil, and marked the spot to remember where they were and to protect them from being stepped on. She would record the data in a notebook…when dug up, how many eggs, that sort of thing. She would then await the hatching day – typically late August, early September. As the little turtle-etts started to hatch, she would measure and record their information in her notebook. They were then put into a medium sized aquarium that had soil and a saucer of water inside. The turtle-etts instinct was incredible! At a few hours old, they knew how to dig into the soil! After 3-4 days, if all of the eggs hatched out, or not….Julia would then take the babiees down into the swamp near the area where they were originally laid (near the railroad tracks), and she would kiss each and every little turtle-ett and let them go into the little bogs. She took the aquarium to school for a few days to allow other classes to come into her classroom and observe such creatures. Most people do not know a whole lot about snapping turtles – this was a great experience for all of them.
Anyhow, that describes my children to a degree. As they got older, dance class, boy and girl scouts, drama, school and athletics consumed an AMAZING amount of time. I loved it then – I miss it now. They are grown, are independent, and have started their own lives. I always felt that kids should be kept busy – it keeps them out of trouble. I was very fortunate – we lived in an absolutely terrific school district that was able to provide a great amount of amenities to students. My kids were not trouble children – Ryan was an average grade student (solid B), got along with everyone. Julia was a natural born leader. She excelled in academics and sports.
I have recently completed my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from The State University of New York at Oneonta. I have since relocated to New Hampshire to be closer to someone I have grown very fond of. Currently, I am attending Rivier College as a Graduate student, majoring in Reading & Literacy, I substitute teach, clean houses, and work for a small web design company in building web sites. I am an Associate Producer and am busier than ever!
The move was tough – hard to leave central New York….Moreso, hard to leave the kids behind to a degree. The telephone calls and emails just doesn’t cut it! I will have to see how things go, I guess.
In NH, the person I am with has three wonderful daughters who I now treat as my own. The eldest is a stay at home mom of three cuties; the middle daughter is a dream – she recently graduated from nursing school and stepped into a job, taking home a sizable income. She has a daughter, age 8, who is cuddly, for the most part. The youngest daughter is a student at the University of New Hampshire, with aspirations of being a high school English teacher. I thoroughly enjoy the relationships of all of these people but my heart wishes my kids were close by…. perhaps one day : )
So, in a roundabout way, there’s a little bit about me and my kids…..I would love to hear about you and yours!
