#329 - The Return

The day of his return finally arrived. She was full of excitement. The entire morning passed slowly. Time is relative, she believed as the seconds ticked backwards. It runs like an unruly stream. Chaos is our only constant. Nothing is static. We may control nothing. 

For tiny slivers of time we are able to hold it. We are able to still beating hearts and then we exhale and it must be unfettered. So even now, even today, eventually, it will be one pm and she will return. She will return to this day which she looked forward to for weeks now - he son coming home after his first term in university. 

She drove home, things in a blur, and opened the door. There were their shoes, carelessly thrown like rocks or bricks at the entrance. She squealed with delight. Eeeeee!! Babies!!!! And there he was, still wearing his coat, lying on the sofa. All six feet of him, still wearing his outdoor coat. His eyes were barely open and he himself was barely awake. 'Mom,' he murmured, and smiled, holding his hand out.

She hugged him deeply. Now, in university, doing a subject he adored, investment banking. It seemed unlikely, but here he was, learning how money is made. It had begun with a frank interest in passive income, watching youtube videos, buying Robert Kowaski's book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, while throwing himself off parapets and ledges... and now here he was, making other kinds of calculated risks. 

She gazes into his tired face as it tries to smile. He has survived the first three months in university. My darling boy. He has thrived. He does his essays, gets good grades. He earns an honest pound giving maths tuition and more magical ones which are earned by investing in shares. He heads a team of analysts for utilities in the university's investment fund for work experience. He is running a small CIC. Finally, he is also hanging out, being great with friends. She is not worried for her son, the world is opening to him, it is full of possibilities, it is his oyster. Not that he likes oysters.

Their little school has nurtured him and carefully nursed the spark which is his life. All those sacrifices she has made, she now cashes them in. Not for her were the glories of the grades he got nor the schools he entered, nor the prestigious university which would have glorified her as a parent, but now, this is his moment. It is a risky business having children. Whom do you serve when they arrive? She stood there, always holding the portals open for him. Ensuring that he had what he needed. The enduring patience, the selfless service. She put career to one side and status and glory and praise...

She now had four wonderful days ahead with him. And now, she will have to do the same with this other situation. Put it aside. Focus on the thing which is important. Her remaining son, the life she is leading now, the life which she must go ahead to forge over the next ten years. That is what she must absolutely focus on. The return of the son is the return to the self. The reminder that this is what it is about.