Hotel Room Reading

There is a small stack of books in the corner of the room that are designated as hotel room reading.

It is based upon a theory that I’ll soon find myself traveling to parts known and unknown and have time to sit and read that which I haven’t yet gotten to.

Some tell me this blog post and others written serve the same purpose for those who travel but if this is true or another promise not kept I cannot say.

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Spent a chunk of the day touring a university and talking about opportunities and possibilities there. Soon there will be another visit in a different place and that location will be the subject of the same questions and speculation.

Got Alice Cooper’s Schools Out playing in my ear and am laughing at the coincidence as the walk across the campus brought a series of thoughts and memories up.

The student leading the tour is younger than my oldest but high energy. She surprises me when she asks when I started college but there is no hesitation when I say “The 80s.”

“We had to stand in line to register for classes and used a book to figure out what classes were being offered and where. I think I have that old catalog floating around, but I am not sure. Probably 30 years since I last saw it.”

Age Is Relative

She tells me I sound like I am probably the same age as her dad and it sparks a memory of a different girl who told me that we might not have a chance until we are in our fifties.

“You won’t be interested then, we’ll be too old.”

The memory makes me snort because there was a time when fifty sounded really old and it seemed impossible to think of a time when things might slow down long enough to consider other things.

I blinked a couple of times, went to sleep and woke up to a world in which my youngest is trying to map out the next part of her life.

Old people told me it would go this fast and that I ought to pay attention because I’d miss stuff if I didn’t.

Did my best to follow their advice even though I thought it to be hyperbole and discovered truth.  Thought about it during a lunch in which my daughter shared some of her thoughts and ideas.

That girl has ideas and more than a little of her father’s independent streak. I can see her try not to tell me I sound ridiculous to her as I offer my insight and input.

I understand, I felt the same way…once.

Now I mull over how hard to push on certain things. Some things can’t be known until you wander down the path and see what lies beyond the bend and others…well experience goes a long way.

Decided on a few items I’ll let her learn the hard way because they’ll be good life lessons. Won’t mention that to her because it won’t provide any incentive to do things differently.

Besides, she is pretty darn smart and resourceful so she may fool me. I am good with that.

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There is a Facebook group that is designed to help parents figure out the best way to manage college finances. It provides information on scholarships, grants and insight on how to work with universities.

Sometimes it turns into a forum in which parents brag about their high performing children. It is a tedious exercise in which they vomit the stats of their little darlings and sometimes complain about the places that didn’t take their kid.

My girl has some pretty serious numbers too, but I haven’t ever felt the need to spout off about it. I made sure she knows I am proud of her hard work but also understands some of this is a joke.

Once you’re out of school and have some work experience no one cares if you were an A student or earned Cs.

Can you do the job you were hired to do? Are you easy to work with? Are you reliable?

Anyhoo, my daughter got into more schools than she was rejected by so that is a solid measure of success and from my perspective a good life lesson.

Being qualified isn’t a guarantee that you will get what you ask for. You have to be willing to put some time in and understand some decisions will not go your way and you won’t see logic or reason in them.

The faster you learn sometimes random things happen and sometimes decisions you dislike are made for reasons that you think are ridiculous the better off you are.

That is because it helps you build resilience and a thicker skin and those are important life skills.

What You See Or Do Not See

The stack of books is two larger than it was and there is a question about whether to add another.

Got a couple of situations going on and a few ideas for potential solutions. Turning them around and over inside my head while I try to determine what I see as well as what I do not.

If I can figure out two or three moves ahead it probably serves me better but this chessboard is in five d and some parts have clouds obscuring the view.

The young lady giving the tour is talking about how she picked this particular campus and says her father used to tell her she would go there.

“I always told him he was wrong and that I would never go here and then things happened. I am really happy with my choice.”

A quick glance at my daughter to see if she reacts to this comment but she shows nothing. I snort and smile to myself.

So many big changes and so many unknowns, but that won’t last because life will raise the barriers that block some of these bridges and we’ll walk across into the next thing.