Monday, March 06, 2006

Lunch Today

Since I so rarely see Kyle (21 year old bipolar son) at home anymore, I make a point to see him at lunch from time to time. He works at a restaurant about 2 blocks away from my office, so I walk over every 2 weeks or so. It makes me feel good to see him and shake his hand (I'd hug him if he'd let me). It's such a success story for him. He doesn't see it that way, he EXPECTS to have a job, and expects it to come as easily as it does for the rest of our family. Of course, nothing about Kyle getting and holding a job comes easily. But he looks so confident when I see him there, and it's obvious he's proud for me to see him there.

It's just one of those things, those successes that bring tears to the eyes of a parent. Success is relative to the person, and I'm every bit as proud of Kyle as I would be of my oldest landing his dream job at Rolling Stone or FHM, or my youngest meeting his goal of graduating from tech school.

5 comments:

Joel said...

You never know, Jon. This might be a step to other things. Good steps.

jane said...

I think the single most important thing to a son is his father's approval. You are such a loving dad, I really admire that.

Maggs said...

that is so sweet. i wish my parents had that kind of support for me then and now, and i'll be 30 in july

gen said...

it's not only important to a son, but to a daughter as well..

this weekend i stopped by my father's house to help him install his wireless router. i intentionally brought in my letter of acceptance for the new position i have recently taken. it was the first time that i've seen my father's face fill with pride because of me..and it did wonders for me on the inside. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm learning the short term goals need to be relative to the person who achieves them. I don't want to be a rock star any more, I'll be happy to just learn to really play my favorite songs and pull together a band that no one ever listens to.

Because learning to play has always seemed an unattainable dream for me due to a short attention span and depression. But I'm finding that our successes, no matter how small, tend to build upon one another and snowball

I remember a video interview where Billy Corgan (of smashing pumpkins fame) said he grew up in a family that raised him for failure, and just the idea of stepping onto a stage, any stage, and actually playing in front of people seemed like an unattainable pipe dream. Well look how things turned out ^_^