You know that look you give your child when he’s walking out the door and he gets into the car to take off for the first time since getting his driver’s license?
That. That is what this post is about. But I won’t do the long drawn out narrative about how I know my fate is to stand at the airport gate waving to him while holding back tears. I couldn’t possibly spend the entire essay on how wonderful he is. I mean, he really is hilarious and has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor and has the best taste ever in music. (Not so much all his movie choices, but he can be forgiven because he’s intimately aware of all the Ealing Studio movies by Alec Guinness and he appropriately loves a good deal of 80′s movies.)
The other thing this is about is that Mason is leaving on Friday for the entire summer and I’m a little fearful that he’ll love where he’s going so much that he may not want to come home again. He got a job as a lifeguard at a Christian summer camp that actually asked that their workers don’t bring “secular” music. I guess he’s going to have to use headphones to listen to all his Marvin Gaye. That’s too bad, too, because it’s really close to Seattle and I’m thinking the music scene there would be pretty good. Am I still living in the 90s on that tip?
Sometimes, Mason is a goody-goody. He’s definitely been the Language Police around the house any time someone lets loose a bad word. He goes to church and Sunday school at a church he joined after our family left our, um, family church and he does this every week, without fail. He’s never once slammed his bedroom door out of arguing with me because he truly doesn’t talk back to me. He never has. I’ve not come home after being gone for a weekend to find that he had a kegger at my wrecked house with mystery stains on my couch and missing jewelry. But that’s enough about how great he is.
Mason is weird. He makes goofy faces and most of the time he has let me capture them on film. I totally warned him that I’d be doing this. He knows I’ll miss him and it’s pointless to write about how much I love him because it will only serve to make me sad. When my heart starts to hurt from his absence, these are the photos that I will come back to time and again.
He may think that he’s a supermodel with that hand-behind-the-ear pose.
Oh, look. A flower pen and a pair of scissors that I took off mom’s desk! I might just do things with them and pose!
Can’t say much about this one. He played trumpet in the marching band all through high school.
He sort of deserves to have to put on this uniform and be photographed in it.
While I’m at it, I snapped this when he let his sister put bobby pins in his hair…
…and then made them pose for it.
Shopping for clothes and giggling like a pre-pubescent kid at the “Active Bottoms” sign.
He was grateful to meet his long-lost sister, Maddie, because there was finally another redhead in the family.
Also, because she was totally amazing and fit right into the weird offspring unit.
From his high school days with his closest-in-age-and-cool-as-heck cousin. THEY TOTALLY LOOK LIKE FAMILY, RIGHT?
Here’s a weird fact about Mason: He loves egg nog and drinks it out of a wine glass.
Pirate face and whatchu talkin’ bout Willis. Seriously. SO weird.
Mallory: Oooohh weee, I can pout like a supermodel.
Mason: I am just about to steal this shot right here.
Mallory: I shall turn my head another direction! I have shiny lips and a pretty smile!
Mason: My sister thinks this will be a great picture and so I will ruin it.
“Mom, come to all the parades my band has to play in where I will forget at least ONE piece of my outfit every. single. time.”
Missing bowtie from a Spring Concert. Every single time. Four years running.
Without a doubt, I know that Mason will close his eyes ON PURPOSE when I take one of those long-arm-out-take-picture-with-my-own-camera shots. Jerk.
“I wear ski goggles. For no apparent reason.”
Love you, Mason. I mean it. You’re going to leave a huge hole in our family while you’re gone, but I want you to have a fantastic time. Get out there and live big. You’ll never get another chance like this.
You’ve raised an AWESOME young man, Kelly. What a beautiful tribute; Mason scored big time when he landed you as his mama.
I love these photos! What a wonderful character they show.
I’m in awe of the beauty in your children.
They have amazing light.
And that bright red hair doesn’t hurt Mason’s shine.
I’m going to try to keep my responses to comments to a minimum because TEARS, people. Lots of them.
Thanks. He’s a real character and I don’t normally think about how much light they possess until someone else points it out. I am, you know, biased. xoxo
Oboy. Bossy can relate to this one big time. He sure is Something, that Mason of yours. Handsome, smart, funny — seems an embarrassment of riches in the offspring department.
redheaded toilet cloggers unite!=) hahaha. love you, mason! he’ll be closer to me this summer! i may have to check out seattle…..
SMH… your kid is kind of awesome… don’t tell him I said that though…
You sure do raise great kids! And have them..(Maddie) lol I think Mason and Maddie look totally like sibs.. He’s such a hoot, I’ll bet he’s the life of the party at all your family “stuff”!! I still think of your “transparent” comment whenever I see him, though.. Makes me laugh just seeing him! Hope he has a great summer. I’m certain he’ll be most of the kids favorite counselor!
he’s so cute– and the driving thing– wonderful and terrifying at the same time– and the forests around Seattle, he won’t come back.
Great job, momma!
You mean to tell me there are people who *don’t* drink egg nog from a wine glass? Savages!
Tell him to try it out of a brandy snifter. No glass allows liquid swirling as well as a snifter. It’s life changing. Well, not really, but yanno.
What great shots! Wow…I feel for you, really. My 7-year old went camping with girl scouts this weekend and I was LOST. A whole SUMMER? I don’t know if I could take it! And hey, I drink APPLE JUICE out of a wine glass. I think wine glasses make everything taste nicer. (Well, cold stuff, but you get the idea…)
Please keep us updated on his summer. And how you’re dealing with it…
I love this post so much. I think what I love about it – BESIDES how clearly adorable this boy is, and how my nephew is blacker than your son, and what a clean spirit he clearly is – is how loved HE is, and not just because he’s your kid, but because you know him as a person, and adore who that person is. That’s the kind of awesomeness that will never be a part of my relationship with my own mom, and I think both of you are so lucky and awesome to have it. if I’m not over-using awesome here, which is my wont.
My heart clenched up a little for you with him taking off for the summer. What a great guy you’ve raised. And cute, too!
What a lovely post. Mason is adorable, my oldest is also a red head (as are the two youngest). I know these torn feelings, we bring them up to be independent and self-reliant and then miss them like crazy when they leave. I hope he has a great summer.
I disagree. He has a whole lifetime ahead of him to live big. It’s just best to make it big every chance you get.
Personally I’m shocked he’s such a cut up, Kell. So unlike his mother. (blinks)
Thank you for ending with that ski goggle shot. It’s my favorite pic of him.
(Yes, I have a favorite pic of your son. What, is that weird?)
Gosh I hope he takes some warm clothes Seattle area doesn’t have much of a summer!!!!
Enjoy the summer and look forward to the fall. The pictures were great. Thanks for sharing
Maddie and Mason SO have the same eyes! It’s not just the red hair that makes them siblings!
Mason: have the time of your life at camp – you are sure a good kid! Nice job, Kelly!
Wow, Kelly, you sure make some beautiful children.
Mason is gorgeous. And good job Momma for raising those kids right. I can only hope to be as successful.
Dang. I wish I* had cool photos like this from my teenage years.
*You have to be cool to have cool photos of you.
I love everything about this post. What a beautiful son, inside and out.
The goggles photo should be on display.
Mason and Mallory have the eyes of wisdom. I know you see that every time you look at these photos and we all do, too.
My sister had a real transformative summer when she was away as a camp counselor. She learned a great deal about how families love and don’t love their children. It was a camp for junior-high school aged girls from very affluent Jewish families. My sister really thought about what was important to her and what truly made for a “happy camper”. She realized that the most important things are free, but you have to do them every day. Those girls kept in touch with my sister for years.
Mason will have a great experience. I miss him already, and I never met him face to face. Powerful people make for powerful photos. Tell him I’m proud of him. He’s outstanding. By the way, about missing pieces of his uniform every single time, I’ve seen worse. Those are the people that are always dressed up, but are empty on the inside. In Texas they call that “All hat and no cattle”;-)
Marching band rocks! And I see he plays the most kingly of instruments as well, the trumpet.
Heck, I told my cubs that they could choose any instrument they wanted, so long as it was the trumpet.
So far, I have 2 diehard trumpet players, we’ll see how the rest goes….. 