Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

And there have been a few in the past few days...

Firstly, Fred and I finally got to meet DarkWingedFae and her hubby - a very awesome couple whom we had been chatting with online for a while. I met them at coffee, only to find that her hubby and I had a work history together *chuckle*, and an SCA history together *guffaw*... We've now decided that, between the two of us, we can play "Six Degrees to [insert either of our names here]" anytime we want, but we'll never end up stumping one another. *bwa ha ha ha ha*

The two found out I was going grocery shopping and, when it was also found out that I was going to be taking a cab home (something that I typically do every two weeks), they insisted on taking me grocery shopping and driving me home. They also invited Fred and I to go see "Stardust" (WOWSERS! what a movie!) later with them, which we happily agreed to.

To backtrack just a bit, Monday night Fred and I went out for sushi at our favorite restaurant, and to simply kick back for a bit. In the midst of the kicking back, Fred had mentioned how, since Speedboy had been so much more mature of late down visiting his mom, and since he'd made so many new friends, we might think about letting him stay down there for school, possibly next year...

The idea was first posed to Ana, and then to her family, then to Speedboy. Speedboy apparently thought it was a *grand* idea, but felt that it would be better to start out this year instead, since he'd already made a few friends, and didn't want to miss out on anything.

So, after much discussion, hemming and hawing, and generally considering what would be best for everyone, the decision was made to let Speedboy stay down for the school year. As Fred said, it's time for a clean slate, and it allows him to be himself for once, instead of being what everyone expects him to be like (which was one of the issues he was having up here).

Personally, I look at it like this: If such a suggestion had been put to Speedboy last year, he wouldn't have known what to do - he was still so fearful that he would be sent away, or lose his family (his father in particular), he would have had fits. This year, though, he was able to consider it seriously, look at the different sides of the argument, and make a rational, logical decision based on what he saw as good for him. It shows both a maturity that he's been working on for some time, and that Fred and I haven't been doing half bad in our parenting. Speedboy is comfortable enough to know that, living with his mom isn't going to make Fred go away forever, and it doesn't mean that he's going to lose him. Yay everyone!

The only odd thing now is that we've been so used to having him here with us, we're not quite sure what to do. *chuckle* It's odd to go into his room and see everything completely untouched and tidy... So un-Speedboy-like.

In any case, today I shipped down the pertinent information to get him registered down there, and this weekend we will go through to collect the rest of his clothing, and items he's written down on a list that he'd like for us to ship down. We should be able to do that in a week or so.

And now, my kitchen is calling me, crying out for salvation from dirty dishes...

~M