Archive for July, 2007

July 24, 2007 | Family & Life

I will be the first to admit I’m an overprotective mother. Now I’m not so bad I won’t let him cross the street by himself, he’ll be seventeen in August. He’s about to take the test for his driver’s license and I’m not too nervous. Right.

J Man is the opposite of J Girl. She was the ying, he the yang. She was the social butterfly, he’s the video game tennis player. We were never sure when J Girl went out on weekends what story or adventure she’d have before returning home. J Man, well he is at home, unless he has a tennis tournament or begging to go to Best Buy. J Man is a young man of few words. I’ve been told this numerous times by many. I agree because unless they’re hiding in a closet when he and I are at home, they don’t know the truth. That boy can TALK!! Again, the opposite of J Girl. Of course since she couldn’t keep her stories straight, it was in her best interest not to talk. The truth always had a way of sneaking out.

Now I’ve always suspected J Man was growing up, maturing, but he’s sneaky. He allows me to mother him to a point, but as I discovered last weekend the boy is savier than I give him credit. Sorry honey. J Girl was always strutting her independence (of course it was all in her mind). J Man is sutle. He’s independent and initutive, when it serves his purpose.

J Man is a high school senior this fall and we’re doing the college tour this summer. We spent last Saturday visiting a college in Indiana and afterwards we went to dinner downtown. Now in Indy, most of the places are closed until four in the afternoon. We wanted to be home by five. Hubby chose Weber Grill (I don’t want to cook anymore after eating there, but that’s another story), mainly a steak place, but the fish was excellent. We drove past and hubby asked J Man to get out and make sure it was open. So he did, and it was. Hubby was parking in the garage across the street and I was going to get out and go with my son. Hubby said no, I stayed in the car until it was parked. Now here is where the overprotective part comes in. When we reached the street, no J Man. Some one had stolen my baby!! Hubby asked me to go inside and look for him. I did, he wasn’t and I freaked. “I told you I should have gotten out of the car!!” I shouted at hubby, who is very use to my hysterics. I walked down the street freaking out, while hubby stood quietly and patiently at the sidewalk. When I returned he asked me to go back and see if he was there. “At the bar?” I retorted. But I went in, and this time went upstairs, and asked the hostess if they’d seen a young, tall black teenager. She said calmly, “Table for three? I seated him.” Then I felt his familiar big hand on my shoulder. J Man had gotten a booth, the bread and butter had already been served, and he was drinking a Coke. Needless to say, my two men had a major laugh at my expense for thirty minutes. I ordered a cosmopolitan. Okay, so I was afraid someone had kidnapped my six foot three inch, almost seventeen year old son.

Now, the most interesting part of this story, if you can stop laughing at me for a moment, is that an upscale restaurant would actually seat a young black male with adults nowhere in sight. Kudos to Weber Grill for respecting my son and kudos to J Man for taking charge of the situation. Of course it didn’t hurt he was extremely hungry.