Twenty

November 29, 2018 by Adam in Sam

Sam turned twenty earlier this week.  There's something special about the two decade milestone, though we couldn't think of anything special about the age from a legal perspective.  I got him some clothes and camping gear, which seemed to be well received.  Long gone are the days when I could just get him video games and Legos.

Road Trip with Grandma

November 12, 2018 by Adam in Sam

Sam and mom headed out to visit Seraph last Friday.  About an hour out of Bend they got a flat in the new Prius.  It turns out the new car didn't have a spare, but instead had a repair kit that the manual didn't really explain properly.  After a tow truck ride to Burns and stop at Les Schwab's, they were on the road again.  I think they picked up a real spare in case too.  I think they made it to Boise before turning in.

Today they've made it through Utah, sending a picture from a little town called Green River, and last I heard they were in Colorado.  I think they'll get there tomorrow.  Sounds like an adventure.

New Job

September 26, 2018 by Adam in Sam

I was chatting with Sam, who was over at the house with mom.  She sadly said she was losing him soon.  Sam has a friend who was doing customer support for an antivirus company.  They apparently need some more people, so he's off to two weeks of training at a local office soon.  I think he's looking forward to leaving the world of manual labor and not being tired all the time.

He said he was basically going to be talking to confused old people most of the time.  He and mom shared a look and then started laughing.

Driving Man

July 10, 2018 by Adam in Sam

Sam is officially a driver. 

He's been off in the woods for a week, measuring trees and taking pictures of wildlife.  He returned ready for a shower and some sleep, along with knowing how to play the guitar a bit more.  This morning he got up early and we practiced driving around the DMV.  Somehow I managed to remember the course from when I took my driver's test thirty years ago.  I think it helped immensely as he passed with a higher score than mine.

Sam's moving out plans keep shifting, though it may be sooner rather than later.  I think he's going to do some work for my mom relatively soon, fixing up the 4th street house.  

Growing Up

May 10, 2018 by Adam in Sam

Sam's in that phase of life where he's trying to figure out what he wants to do and who he wants to be.  Every few months there's a new change - I'm learning to let go of expectations and be generally supportive however I can.

It looks like his plan is to move out with some friends over the summer.  The mix of people seems to keep changing and there isn't something lined up quite yet.  The younger kids feel a little funny about it, as do I.  I'm glad he's moving on and being more independant, though I admittedly will miss him being around.

Sam's also not planning on taking classes next year, and instead just wants to work.  Thankfully mom has been throwing meaningful work his way, hopefully enough to pay for rent and food and such.  I just want him to be happy and eventually figure out how to support himself.

We've been practicing driving quite a bit.  My hope is that we can get his license by summer.  After that it'll be trying to figure out how to drive mom's manual transmission car around.  We've done it a little, though it's like playing a video game in hard mode.