My youngest son (19) has been accepted on a college course to study trees. He starts on Monday.
This is good news because he's wasted the past few years, spent months crocked because of a motorbike crash, didn't quite have the qualifications needed and arrived at the interview this week on crutches and carrying the thinnest "record of achievement" ever seen.
My older children have tended to pass exams and get accepted for courses and jobs almost as a matter of course... it is somehow much more exciting when it has been a real struggle to get this far.
This weekend will be spent finding him somewhere to live.
That is excellent news Gordy, good luck with the accommodation hunt. Our oldest went off to join the Army when he was 17 but son number two proved to much more of a challenge wasting a couple of years with school, college and lying on his back for several months not achieving anything.
Twelve months ago now after lengthy discussions he finally got his act together, went off to Taunton to get some experience of the special needs school my sister in law works in because he wanted to work with people and that seemed a good place to start. Anyway, to cut a long story short after work experience and 8 months of working there on supply he now has a job with them and yesterday went out and spent £100 on a pair of football boots (this time last year that amount of money would have had to last him several weeks).
The accommodation issue was made much easier for us by my s-i-l offering to rent him a room, he is still there although the hope is that he will progress to the next stage of growing up and go off travelling, get a flat with friends or spread his wings in some other way. Last year he was a slouching, mumbling 19 year old with low self esteem, he is now more confident, walks tall and talks coherently and at length. and seeing him succeed as with your son it is a great feeling.
I wish you all well.