Grandson Billy is 25 today!

       Any of you who know me know about the grandson I raised from the age of eight months till . . . well, till now. The only “raising” I do presently is present him with rent and car payment funds when Cracker Barrel shorts his hours. And I always warn him (ahem) about driving in bad weather. That’s a grandparent’s prerogative, isn’t it? Oh, and I send money for his college textbooks—one of which cost $250, he said.

       [In the late 1970s when I was finishing my distance classes for my Masters, I thought the person who charged me $28 for a used textbook was cheating me. He wasn’t.]
 
       Billy lived in downtown Arkadelphia for all of last year, so I won’t be able to check “head of household” on taxes for the first time. I don’t yet know if that will be a good thing or not. I certainly won’t insist that he move back home because of it. I’ve already turned his room into a guest room!

       As young adults sometimes do, he doesn’t keep in as close touch with “home” as I’d like, but he is back at HSU, determined to “finish” and find a “job” teaching in the early education field.

       Here is an essay he wrote in English class at age fourteen. I came across a folder with several essays and one formal paper. He gave me permission long ago to use anything he wrote.

                                      THE REAL ME – by Billy Paulus.

       “Do you think you really know who I am? Well, after you read this, you will know me all too well. You will learn that I love art. That I abhor violence and fighting. And. that I have many different outlooks on life. So, if you want to know who I am, prepare to find out.

       “First of all, I’m very creative. I love to make origami, because it helps me to relax. I love to read books and to write. I also love to draw and/or look at any forms of art. I think, and hope, that everyone is creative in their own special way.

       “One of the worst things that I hate to see is violence, so I guess that makes me a peace lover. I have always tried to be an advocate and stand up for people. I would never fight if I could choose to walk away instead. I don’t get angry very easily and am usually a very happy person. I just wish that I could do more for everybody right now, but I guess it will just have to wait.

       “But, the one thing that most people do not know about me is that I am sort of a philosopher. I always think that there is hope during a bad situation. I don’t think, I know that nothing is impossible. And my strongest belief is that no one is weird. We are just ourselves. And, being a philosopher, I know that not everyone has the same philosophies about life.

       “Well, there you have it. You now know more about me. You know that I’m creative. That I’m against fighting. And that I’m very optimistic. If you ever have any more questions, please feel free to ask any time. I hope you enjoyed it. Goodbye.”

       This almost made me cry—not tears of sadness, but of pride and warmth. Such feelings are due a parentis in loco, no?
      
       HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLY.