For the past two, or three years I’ve been an empty nester. No bats, no winged demons (my brother Max is the one bothered by those things), but all kidding aside, no kids. Since 2012 I’d been blogging about teaching your children to fly, because one day they would be adults and need to have the tools to survive in the adult world.
Mine, and most of their friends are surviving and adulting quite well. They flew.
Movies
Everyone needs to see “Old Henry.” It is sort of quiet movie. A small movie. A violent movie. A movie about family, and secrets, and a change in society, and growing up. It is better than any Bond BS or Superhero movie. It is original. Just don’t read about it and read the spoilers. Nooooo spoilers on this one.
I’ve said this before but skip the new Bond movie. It sucks.
Music
Paul McCartney (Sir Paul) recently said that he thought The Rolling Stones were just a blues cover band. Hmmmm. Looks like old Paul, the now wizened little gnome of a man, who should have stayed single after Linda passed away, is a wee bit jealous of Mick.
While Mick Jagger is still touring and women are still lifting up their shirts at him, Paul is just getting old. By old I don’t mean physically, but mentally. Give it up Paul. Stop being an old fart, and a jackass to boot. The more you say stupid things like this the more you destroy your legacy. Be a rock star not a garden gnome.
And speaking of the Beatles…My son’s friend recently described a relationship he just got out of as a never ending Yoko Ono album. The first song was bad and just kept getting nightmarishly worse.
My son Garrett told me that whenever the Styx song “Come Sail Away” is on the radio he sings along – loudly. I told him I do the same. I’ve never told anyone that. By the way he is only 25 so I don’t even know how he knows that song. His sister and my husband would think we’re weird and a couple of idiots if they knew this. Well, I guess now they know. Note: sometimes I don’t sing along and change the station, you know, gotta be in the mood.
News
We are still weary of the news. We’re all just exhausted. We’re tired of the attention whores, celebrities, and politicians. We’re tired of influencers. We’re tired of the over reactions to small things, and the lack of attention to the big things. We’re just tired. Yes, if you want to even tire out Vampires saturate every second of every single day with endless mindless angry unimportant news.
Real Life
So Garrett asked me, “Hey Mom, is that Ghost still coming around?” Why yes, he is, but in any other family that might be a weird question. My advice to all parents is to never be “any other family.”
Garrett is currently planning a move. He and his friends were housesitting in the Hollywood Hills. It was nice. No it wasn’t all glam or like something out of a Clive Barker novel. It was a beautiful home with a nice view. The neighbors were nice, but the Vampire population was a bit on the old side.
I guess what I was thinking about is that your kids can move far away and it is ok. They don’t have to grow up they grew up, or where you live, or where you grew up, or where you want them to live. They need to go where their opportunities are. They could end up someplace you might even want to move to one day. Seriously.
Garret, his best buddy Randy, and Randy’s weird friend and business partner Alexis are thinking of moving to the Central Coast (California). My brother Max is moving to the Carmel/Monterey area as soon as the sale of his house closes in San Francisco so Garrett will have someone in the family close by.
In the meantime Clara is in Graduate school and still in Southern California. I have a feeling she might stay down there for a while but you never know. We shall see.
As an empty nester I have to admit that part of me is living through my children. I am in awe and wonder of the things they are doing, despite the fact that I did a lot of the same things (only they’re doing it all better than I did.) We should all be in awe and wonder of our children. If parents would stop being suspicious and critical of their kids maybe they could see the magic and trial and error and wonder going on. Having kids in their 20’s is kind of like having toddlers – something new happens every single day. It is a grand time of discovery. It is a time of trial and error. It isn’t always easy. But not much is. That’s ok. Nobody said anything would be easy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun or rewarding.
Everyone around my neck of the woods (the Sacramento area) is in awe and wonder this week because it is RAINING. That is always a big thing around here because we’re in a drought. We forget what it is like to have water fall from the sky for more than that exciting occasional 36 second sprinkle that comes along every 3 or 4 months. There are even reports of SNOW in the mountains. WOO HOO.
We can only hope there aren’t landslides in the areas devastated by fire. Yes, insult to injury is a common occurrence in these parts.
The Covid-19 Pandemic made us all weary. We’re still in it. Even for Vampires and everyone else in the paranormal realms it is weird. Add to that fires, a drought, and in other areas of the country/world floods, storms, earthquakes, and other natural disasters and it gets worse. Then add stupidity and ignorance on the part of stupid and ignorant people.
I have to say this is all especially hard on young people just getting started in the world. Now more than ever they need our support and love. They don’t need to have fingers pointed at them. They don’t need lectures. They don’t need people saying, “When I was your age…” They need encouragement. They need someone who will listen to them – really listen to their concerns and try to understand where they are coming from. They need productive dialog. They need to live someplace where the bull shit isn’t so thick that they can’t even function.
All the rest is just, well, simple stuff. Even Vampires need to clean their houses, which is what I’m doing today. I feel like Goldberry in Lord of the Rings, cleaning in the rain out in the Old Forest. That makes it easier. Nobody ever specifically said she wasn’t a Vampire too.
Stay safe. Be smart. Be kind. Don’t be a dick. Hug your dogs and cats. Check in on those who are alone, elderly, or might need extra help. Talk to your kids. And kiss a Vampire (you’ll thank me for it later.)
~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman
Vampire Maman 