EXCUSE ME, WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN?

I admit that I can occasionally be a pretty opinionated person. I can even be a bit judgmental. I certainly try to be open-minded, understanding, compassionate, to see the other's point of view, etc. But when you get right down to it, I am not past raising an eyebrow on the rare occasion.

It is startling then, when after coming to a bold opinion in my mind (I do ordinarily keep these things to myself), I later find myself doing precisely the thing that I found unacceptable when someone else did it. Years and years ago, when I first began working at my church, I had a volunteer teacher whose son played hockey. "Travel" hockey.... I was stunned, absolutely stunned to discover that she drove that boy to DETROIT - yes! DETROIT - an hour and a half drive(!) on a school night! I could not fathom spending that kind of time on a mere sport. And - mark this - she also had a daughter who was a ballerina. Quite good, I heard, but she took this girl to ballet class several nights a week! This family seemed to be running all the time.

I'm sure I smiled and listened with interest, but I privately felt this was excessive, detrimental to a healthy family life, and I parked these people in my mental file: crazed.

So.....years passed. Ten, probably. Lydia was born. Lydia grew. Lydia fell in love with Irish Dance. Lydia was good at it. And I found myself driving my lovely child, and a few others, to DETROIT (well, close - Birmingham) so she could have lessons twice a week at the top Irish Dance studio. In addition to lessons with her local teacher.

It is an odd feeling to find yourself doing something that you disdained (well...at least disapproved of) in someone else.

Now it has happened again. See illustrative photo.

My dear Sergei has joined the Army Cadets.

I have always considered myself a pacifist, mind you. So you can imagine my surprise to find that I have my fifteen year old son running around in camouflage!

Sergei (left, in case you don't recognize him without his hair!) is pictured here with his wonderful friend, Misha. Misha and Sergei met initially a few years ago at our agency's annual picnic. His amazing parents adopted Misha and his three younger sisters in a story that would bring tears to your eyes if I stopped to tell it well. The three sisters came on a hosting visit, and when their parents found out there was a brother [considered too old] back in Russia, they flew there to meet him, and after assuring him that yes, he could fish in the United States, the rest became history. This wonderful family are key members of our Russian School, and Sergei and Misha are fast friends. Mish is a really nice boy.

So, when he asked if Sergei would like to join him in the Army Cadets, and Sergei showed more excitement than he's showed about anything, ever - of course, I said yes. It is wholesome. It is healthy. It is something special that Sergei can do that does not involve Maxim or Ilya. But, I have to admit that when I was at the PX Store buying him army boots, and certainly when he came down in uniform - wow. I couldn't help but think, as though about another person altogether, "I can't believe she is letting him do that!"

Really. If I saw another mother's fifteen-year-old son running around in the "pre-army" I'd look askance. I admit it. But Sergei has always shown great enthusiasm for the military. He loved going to Aidan's and Lydia's Basic Training graduations. The one memory he has of his older brother in Russia is that he was in the army. The main thing isl, he whole-heartedly wants to do it. And for any number of reasons....but primarily because of that, I just have to hold my head up high as I raise an eyebrow in my own direction.