My son John Jr. is closing in on finishing another year of law school, which has caused my mind to recently flash to years past.
It seems like just yesterday, and not more than five years ago, that we were sitting down together at the kitchen table making a list, “What I need for college.” Come to think of it, it wasn’t all that much before that I was driving Johnny to his first day of high school or walking him to kindergarten or bringing him home from the hospital. It may be a lifetime to him but it seems like just days for me.
I get dizzy thinking about how quickly this has all come about and the trajectory my son has himself on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he argues a case before the Supreme Court. I’ve told him as much already. He’s smarter than I’ll ever be.
Needless to say, the first time we visited the campus bookstore for his first-tier law school, I became confused. I started wondering what grad school supplies we’d really need, what the essentials are for entering something like law school besides heart and fire, which my son has in abundance (all McCauley men do) and which couldn’t be purchased in any gift shop, anyhow.
We didn’t go with a list of items to get this time, and in fact, we still have a lot of the go to college school essentials from his undergraduate years. It seems like kids need more school supplies for college their first four years. My son is also a lot calmer and more sedate at 24 than he was at 18. He wouldn’t need as much regardless of whatever leftover school supplies for college students that we still have.
There are, of course, general school supplies for a college student that need to be purchased and repurchased at any level, continually. This meant more notebooks and pens for Chad. Then of course we bought his law school books. From there, he didn’t need much. It took more getting him to this point.
He’s done well, thus far, in law school, and I’m excited about what the future holds.
