It's So Nice To Have A Man Around the House

The neatest thing about my son, Dan, is that he's a guy. And like a lot of guys (and quite a few women too, but my sons are guys) he knows a lot about a lot of things. And he particularly knows a lot about the things I have a great deal of trouble with: fixing stuff, computers, cars. I went for a short visit to see him this weekend and love him as I do & enjoy seeing him as I do, my ticket to fly to Roanoke more than paid for itself!

You see, this little symbol kept lighting up on my dashboard. To me, it looked like an old-fashioned gas lamp.And, not knowing what it meant, I thought it meant a light was out in my car. But, Dan hopped on-line and looked it up; and it turns out I have to check my tire pressure. Really, I was picturing that as I drove home from the airport, a police officer would pull me over because my light was out. Turns out, it wasn't my light at all. Whew! What a relief!

I brought my computer, so we could continue speaking (except for you) on this blog. So, Dan took a look at my computer, and told me I hadn't updated my operating system. Truth is, I don't even know what an operating system is, and I find those update offers that pop-up all the time on my computer, well, irritating---so, I ignore them. Dan told me it only takes about a minute to update most things, though my operating system might take a little longer. And he proceeded to do it.

Then, he added a yoga program to my desktop. He's been doing yoga himself & I had asked him if he'd gone back to the gym to find a class. He said, he didn't really have time (He's doing a residency in Psychiatry--and they keep him pretty busy.)--so he found this program, I think it's kind of an APP, and he downloaded it and has been using it. Now, it looks like I'll be using it too.

I got, not only, those goodies when I visited Dan, but I got a potential job offer ("Maybe someday you can help me run my office"); and a little white lie--"Dan, your scale says I put on 5 lbs, do you think I did?" (He's usually pretty honest about these things) "No, Mom, that scale is off. If you even had coffee this morning, it'll put 5 pounds on you!"

Dan uses the TV and the computer in the background as white-noise. Meantime, he's really well-informed on sports, politics, Jungian psychotherapy, anthropology, mythology, art, Nobel Prize Winners, animal behaviors and interesting books and films, like the one he was reading: "Liespotting," which looks at body language in people.

He mentioned something to me to the effect that visiting him in Virginia can't be as exciting as visiting France (where his brother, my older son, Josh lives). And it isn't. Still, I came home inspired by all the ideas he shared, the things he showed me how to fix ("You can't be afraid of a tire-gauge mom, after all, fourteen-year-olds in shop-class can use them!")

Whenever I don't have somebody to fix things for me, I either have to find someone to do it and then pay him/her. Or, I have to learn to do things myself. I really hate having to take care of everything myself, but it does make me brave. I am forced to try new things, do things myself, brave driving in bad weather (Who said men had a handlehold on winter driving? But, I used to believe they did; always feeling safer if my husband took me places,than if I drove myself. Go figure.) I don't think I was safer. But being braver makes me feel pretty good about myself.

And I do like being brave. However, visiting Dan and being helped with a bunch of things did make me feel good in a different way--I felt very cared-for.

Remember Vinnie Barbarino, played by the young John Travolta on "The Welcome Back Kotter" television show back so long ago most of you won't remember...He used to say: "My mother was a saint."Well, maybe most sons don't go to those extremes to praise their mothers. Still, I highly recommend sons. Because, even if they don't live nearby, they are often there-for-you in ways nobody else can be. Daughters may share all kinds of personal matters with their moms. But, sons, they are dear in a very special care-taking way. And there is this Yiddish word that comes to mind: "Kvell": They are wonderful to kvell about, too.

*brag might be a fairly accurate translation