Friday, October 7, 2011

my baby's home (lyn)

I’m sound asleep when my phone rings at 7.   “Hi, are you up?”  It’s Alexander.  Of course I’m not up.  “Last night was so much fun,” he begins.  “I didn’t go to sleep all last night so I wouldn’t oversleep for the 9:05 bus home.  I figure I’ll just sleep on the bus.”  

I go out and buy his favorite foods.  Mozzarella. Lobster meat.  Pita bread.  Cereal.  Blueberries and raspberries.  Shrimp.  Even carrot cake from Lloyd’s.  My refrigerator hasn’t been this full since summer.

I’m in Agata when my phone rings.  “Hi, my bus just got in.  I should be home soon.”  It’s been seven weeks since I dropped Alexander off at school.  This is the longest I’ve gone without seeing him.  

Tonight is the beginning of Yom Kippur.  I plan on fasting through sundown tomorrow and would like it if Alexander does the same.  I hope that some Judaism has rubbed off after seven years of Hebrew School and a Bar Mitzvah.

I ask Alexander if he’s going to see any friends today.    “I might see Daniel if he’s around this afternoon, but I know he’ll be with his family tonight for Passover.”  Reminds me of the time my nephew Michael was in college and almost fasted instead of going to a Seder.

Around 2:30, there is a knock at the door.  It feels so good to put my arms around my son and hold him close.  Alexander’s hair has grown and he seems taller.  He looks so handsome and happy.  College is good for him.


After some catching up, Alexander opens his computer, turns on some music and asks, "How come the internet is so slow?"  A few minutes later he wants to know how old his mattress is.  He learned in his psych class that a mattress should be tossed after ten years; his mattress is older than ten.  

I make lobster salad while Alexander runs over to his doctor’s for a flu shot.  He comes back and I’m in my bedroom doing something on the computer.  He yells out, “Hey, where’s lunch?  I thought we were eating together?”  “I’ll be there in a sec.  Just grab some pita bread and make yourself a sandwich,” I say.   He replies, “This is not the kind of service one expects when one returns from college.”

It’s so good to have my baby home.  I seriously missed him more than I knew.

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