Coming Around, Going Around

I drove into the parking lot and it hit me – the pit in the stomach, ton of bricks sort of thing. This is my high school. The last time I left the parking lot of this place I swore that I was never returning. I promised myself that I was getting out of here – moving on to places that were more exotic, eclectic, artistic, enriching. Actually, I just wanted out of town. I’m not really exotic, and probably far less artistic than I’d like to think. But I was leaving and not coming back.

I’m back.

Actually, it isn’t me who is back, but my son. My precious seventeen year-old first-born son. If I wanted all the best for myself, you can be sure that I wanted only the best for this kid. So how did we end up back HERE? At Memorial High School. Home of the Chargers. I tried to leave. But because I am an only child, I felt some pull to be where my parents are. And because I don’t like suburbia and we couldn’t afford midtown, I ended up back in the old neighborhood. But I still found a way to get my kids out. We put them in the magnet schools, which boast high test scores, the Intercollegiate Baccalaureate program and a racially integrated student population. The magnet high school is listed in Newsweek’s Top 100 High Schools (50-something). My daughter is thriving in this environment, despite the fact that it is on the other side of the city. My son just wants to come home. This is his decision. He wants to go to the neighborhood high school. The one that is five minutes from our house. The one where his best friend will be attending. It just so happens it’s the high school that I blew a good-bye kiss to on the last day of school and the place where I swore I would never return. But here we are. Pulling into the parking lot and I’m feeling a little queasy. Is this what they mean when they tell you “never say never?” or “what comes around goes around?” Maybe so, but here I am, willing to do whatever it takes for my kid. If this is the place he wants to be, then it’s the place I’ll be. Go Chargers...