Tonight Calvin is going to the homecoming of a local high school with his girlfriend of almost one year, Sarah. Preparation this year was not as traumatic as it was last year. This year he already had the nice jacket, pants and shirt and dark shoes courtesy of the local thrift store we scoured last homecoming, and his godmother’s generous Christmas present. He even knew this year that he was supposed to buy a corsage for his date, something I did for him last year. This year Calvin and Sarah went shopping for a boutonniere and corsage together so that they would match. The only thing he had to get last minute was a teal necktie to match Sarah’s dress, but he handled that well on his own too. He got a $30 necktie for only $10, and I understand he had three young salesladies to help him find just the right tie. So it’s all good.
He just left with $60 in his pocket, enough for gas and emergency money. One of the parents is hosting dinner for the couples, so Calvin didn’t have to worry about that expense either. Like I said, it’s all good.
On another note, a couple of weeks ago signs started popping up all over our city that the fire department was recruiting between the ages of 18 and 32. I asked Calvin if he was interested and he just sort of shrugged. So of course I looked up the local fire department on the internet and found out they were having a career day today for new recruits. The shrug that Calvin gave me translated into a, “Yea, I think I’m going to see about getting into the fire department” to his friends on the swim team and his girlfriend, all of whom seemed surprised and excited that he actually had a clue about what he wanted to do next year.
So Calvin and I show up at 9:00 a.m. for career day. Mr. Pete let me go because he didn’t want to have to remember every conversation verbatim and he knew I would ask him questions that he never would have thought to ask… it was just easier for me to go. What we discovered is that yes, they are open to 18 year olds, but they want you to be a high school graduate before the end of the month to be eligible to take the civil service exam. (Someone explain to me why they were peppering the high school lawns with recruitment signs if none of them would be eligible?) The next test will be given in 18 months!
Well that was disappointing. But we persevered. We talked to a veteran fireman who told us that the department was short by 60 fighters and they were desperate to get some new guys in there. He recommended that Calvin take the time after high school to get some emergency medical technician training and experience. He said that would really help him when he did get to take the test and apply to the department.
So we have a game plan. It’s not the one I thought we had when I woke up this morning, but Calvin is sort of excited about it and that’s what I really wanted to see! They also told us that the public schools are going to be offering an EMT scholarship worth $7000 in the spring. I definitely want to follow up on that as well. Even if he didn’t get the scholarship, $7000 for EMT training is definitely doable.
My little boy – all grown up. Here are some more pictures of Calvin just before he left for homecoming.
