The Pleasures of Being a (Step) Grandparent

Yesterday my oldest stepson, Drummer Man, threw a party celebrating his third anniversary of sobriety.  A good time was had by all.  I have to say, watching your child (or step-child) being a good parent is a deep and unexpected pleasure.

Drummer Man's girlfriend, La Novia, has a daughter from a previous relationship, Laughing Girl, who is just over 31 months.  LG has been in childcare for a couple of weeks while La Novia's in school.  La Novia's native language isn't English, and LG was speaking a funny toddler hybrid of her native language and English, but now her English has blossomed.  She's still a bit hard to understand -- I have to really pay attention.

La Novia said that LG really enjoyed Halloween, but being the social butterfly that she is, she sort of expected to be invited in to play after the candy distribution.

Part of the evening's entertainment was Drummer Man, Lawyer Man & their buds playing guitar, hand drums, & singing.  The Beatles sure do hold up well, as does Van Morrison and The Band.  Laughing Girl was running around with a bicycle pump, "playing" it.

Had a long talk with La Novia about school issues.  She is here on a student visa, and already has one  Associate in Arts (AA)  degree, I think in general education.   Right now, she's enrolled at a local community college and is taking  Child Development classes, which also leads to a degree and certificate.   I asked her why she isn't focusing on earning a BA, rather than  a second AA.  It all has to do with the intricacies of being an international student.   At the community college, she's paying $118 /per unit, and doesn't have to prove  that she has the funds to complete her degree.  The process is more complicated for the California State University system.  We'll see what happens.

Apple Man and his wife Tech Woman were there--I hadn't seen them for a year!  Tech Woman used to work for Drummer Man's father.  We did some gossiping, and I played with the twin iPhones they were toting.  Typing on the virtual keyboard was a bit dicey for me, as I have the familial fine hand tremors.  Not enough to bug me in real life, but on the iPhone screens, lots of errors.  Plus print on the display screen is small enough that I'd have to use glasses to read it.  So my tech lust has been cooled a bit.   

Final visit of the night was with Lawyer Man and his wife, Nursing Student.  I've known Lawyer Man since he was 12 or 13 -- we couldn't remember.  As they are both approaching 30, Drummer Man and Lawyer Man have been playing music together  for more than half their  lives.

Lawyer Man had a bumpy ride through high school, and was shipped off by his parents to one of the teen gulags in Utah for 8 months.  I'd never really talked to him about it, so I asked  him if he'd mind talking about it.  He's come to peace with the experience and with his parents, but reported that it was eight months of sitting, doing very little, and being medicated.