Riding the Roller Coaster of Emotions

Moods will vary. Levels of activity will rise and fall. Minds will rest, get bored, get lonely or even let loose and have fun.

Thanks to the conferences hosted by Rotary Distrist 6540 and later Central States Rotary Youth Exchange, parents and students are taught what is a typical roller coaster of emotions while away for year. Rotary also reminds everyone that not every student is typical. So with that said, I really don't know where our son fits into the "normal" experience. What I can report is that even this mother has finally experienced a wide set of emotions this week.

On Sunday evening, I retreated to my bedroom, grabbed my son's bear for only the second time since he left, and actually wept for the first time. More than a tear or two, but not uncontrollable either. I just wanted to be able to hug my son for encouragement...and I can't when I am at least 17 hours and 25 minutes away by airplane.

Then Monday, he happens to make a blog post on our wedding anniversary thanking us for how we raised him. He also posts about a trip into the High Tetras where he had a cool experience with a fox. Today he relates in his blog about how important it is to pay attention with your ears and eyes. Then in another post, he recounts his experience of a Slovakian high school dance.



I am reminded of the car restoration project that my husband and son took upon themselves last year.
     There were times of great progress and also breathing spells.
     There were times when the guys worked with what they had.
     There were other times when new purchases needed made.

I imagine this is similar.
     There will be times when there are things to do.  Different places to go. Different people to meet.
     There will also be spans when it seems like the days run together in dullness.
     There will be times when Aaron uses the values and characteristics that have grown in him since             he was a child.
     There will also be times when he is brave, takes risks, experiences new feelings, and unfolds.

Now that I've used a car analogy, let me send a guitar message/analogy to my son through this blog:
"Aaron, continue to amplify yourself."

And if you're trying to figure out what exactly Mom means, here's a few other options from the thesaurus:

1. augment
2. exaggerate
3. heighten
4. intensify
5. magnify
6. strengthen
7. boost
8. develop
9. elaborate
10. enlarge
11. expand
12. extend
13. inflate
14. stretch
15. beef up
16. build up
17. flesh out
18. hike up
19. jack up

By the way, this mother is happy to report that when she read that her son "actually had fun at a school dance for the first time ever" she felt tears of joy well to her eyes.

My advice to others is:

Just ride this roller coaster. 

Stay on board. 

You may feel sick sometimes and exhilarated others. 

Remember it will come to an end some day.

Cursive Makes A Return

(Photo Attribution: https://www.bettefetter.com/betty-edwards)

About a month ago, Aaron shared with us that all his classmates in Slovakia write in cursive. He had started keeping a personal, handwritten journal and decided that he would use that format to brush up on his cursive. Many Americans will not be surprised to learn that he basically stopped writing in cursive while he was in fifth grade.

Today we received a postcard from Aaron. He actually sent it to us to hand deliver to a friend. True to his word he has returned to the fine art of cursive writing. True to Rotary International's word my son is changing.

(Photo Attribution: http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/)

Another Graduation

Tonight we boxed up Aaron's second care package. This one only contained four items:

1. A set of tuning pegs for the guitar he is building.
2. An already opened bag of dark M&M's. (They were easy to grab from the kitchen cupboard.)
3. His down feather blanket. (Earnestly requested by Aaron for the last month. He reports his current blankets creep up on him, and his feet end up hanging out.)
4. A note from Mom.

During my young teens years, I came up with this little
set of arms that I put on cards, letters, notes, and now boxes.
They travel well!

In the note, I announced to our son that he has officially graduated from just being "spoiled" to "spoiled rotten." It was Dad who finally told Aaron we would send it to him during the next few weeks. I'm still in a state of disbelief. 

On the bright side, it will be much easier to fill out the paperwork at the post office. A tip for future parents or friends sending care packages: write a list of all the items you put in it as you box it up. The post office wants to know exactly what is in there. I didn't know this for the first package, and I probably stood at the counter for 15 minutes recreating the long list of stuff I stuffed in the box. Even Aaron was impressed with my first packing job as he reported how he kept pulling stuff out. He did also report that there was a different piece of tape on box, and it looked like customs had gone through it. I'm not surprised. 

(Photo Attribution: https://www.pinterest.com/ep27153/peanuts-linus/)

Missing Ingredient.

(Photo Credit: Coney Island Facebook page)

I have decided that certain foods don't taste quite as good as when my son joins us for the meal. Coney dogs at Coney Island. Wings at Buffalo Wings and Ribs. Homemade chicken enchiladas.

There's just something missing, and Aaron is the missing ingredient. The empty chair waits for his return...or in the case of Coney Island...the empty counter stool.

Hoping for Solutions

So it seems things aren't perfect. Well, it's not so much that we expected things to be perfect. But it seems that things are not great for our son half way around the world. The week is slow and boring as he continues to not understand what is going on in school. As his classmates get further into the school year, they seem to be busy studying harder which leaves him with fewer people to hang out with after school. Evidently weekends aren't too bad. But being relatively idle for five days at a time is leaving him thinking about home, thinking about driving (which he isn't allowed to do overseas), thinking about work, and thinking about college. And this mother hasn't figured out if having the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs is a good diversion or only making the situation worse as he longs to be closer to the excitement of what may be a historic run to the World Series.

Tomorrow he finally meets with his Rotary youth exchange counselor...or his wife...not sure really which it is. It is my hope and prayer that they'll be able to work together to find some solutions to some of the difficulties Aaron is experiencing. I believe my son can succeed in making it through the whole year, but it would be nice to know he is enjoying the experience and not "just going with the flow" until he gets home.