Lovely Day

Today I got a taste of one of the pleasures of parenting a young adult. I visited the womanchild on campus. The Financial Aid Office needed some paperwork from me. Since I'm mobilized, gas is less than two dollars a gallon, and it was a windswept Autumn day, I decided to drive it down.

First I decided I had to be cute. It's such a silly thing. I'm far too old to be concerned about my own cuteness, but damn it, my car is sporty, and I didn't want to shame it. Decked in my favorite jeans (the ones that make me look like I almost have an ass), heels, and my absolute to die for fuchsia leather jacket, I took care of business and then walked around campus until I found her dorm. The womanchild moved into the dorm when I was without wheels, and this was my first time to see her room. I knocked on her door and just loved the look on her face when she saw it was me. She was actually pleased, and she hugged me and introduced me to her roommate and another friend. We talked for a little while and then had to go driving. Of course, she was texting on her cell phone nearly the whole time, but it was pleasant time spent together.

After taking her back to campus, I picked up a few more job applications and then got to visit a friend. I'd spent the earlier part of the day working on government paperwork, crunching numbers and playing phone tag with bureaucrats, the last part of my day was wonderful. I found out that I'd rather look like a woman than a girl. I was reminded that my dreams and my feet are not quite in agreement on heels. I also got to see that the girl who nagged me about my housecleaning keeps her dorm room in chaos. She has two new piercings -- her ear cartilage and her tragus, that little nodule of the ear where it connects to your face -- and a tattoo on her back right shoulder. She was trying to decide what to wear to a fraternity formal this weekend and had to meet another guy later in the afternoon to "help him change a tire." Like she knows how. It was far better than keeping up via Facebook.