Boys to Men

I know I have mentioned here before that I am beginning to experience the joys of having a son who realizes ol' mom knew what she was talking about, afterall!
Well, it happened again.
And it made me so happy, I just have to talk about it. *grin*

That is to say, Josh came over for dinner Friday evening and - besides delighting my heart with gushing praises for my cooking - he made music for my ears with stories about his adventures in adulting.
Time together eating, and enjoying having Josh in our presence was lovely. And it just got better as the minutes rolled on. We sat around the table after everyone had finished eating and shared stories from what's been going on in our lives over recent days and weeks. And, at one point, Josh lit up and told me he found a deal at the grocery store which I would probably like.
He said, "Well, it made me buy five boxes of cereal, and I hadn't planned to buy that many. But it was such a good deal." And I chimed in, "Oh, right! The 'Buy 5, save $5' deal? I took advantage of it this week, too!" (Who would've thought the day would come when I'd be discussing grocery bargains with my son? He never cared how much groceries cost when his dad and I were footing the bill.)
Oh, how responsibility changes perspectives.
After we'd exhausted tales about sales the conversation moved on to chronicles of housekeeping.
Seems Josh and his roommate have come to an agreement that the kitchen sink needs to be empty (That is, the dishes need to be washed.) before the end of each day. Because when dirty dishes get left overnight they tend to pile up for days, and strange smells begin accumulating in the kitchen.
I listened and nodded and smiled and thought, The dishes must be washed every day. What a grand idea! I'm so glad you thought of that!
And I noticed, again, how a young man's perspective changes when his responsbilities increase.
Ahhhh, what a lovely tune it is!

However, for as much fun as it is to see my son coming into agreement with so many of the things I've been trying to teach him for the past 21 years, I think the greater joy is witnessing the man he is becoming. It's just so beautiful to see him growing and maturing in ways that he couldn't when he was living under our roof. And even though it is hard as a mom to let your baby go - it is even more wonderful to see him begin to fly.