Listen To Me
Artwork by Amelia Fox
I was in bumper to bumper traffic, crawling along the wet roads on the way to dropping my grandson at Umina High School — or, as he insists I call it, Brisbane Water Secondary College Umina Campus. I wondered if his life's journey would be as incredible as his uncle Mick’s had been. It seems like only yesterday that I was dropping both my kids off to this school, when actually it was 30 years ago.
I remember walking up the stairs of my house on Scenic Road, smelling the chillies and spices simmering away as Mick was cooking one of his favorite Chinese meals and singing one of his favorite songs. It was just the two of us living together at that stage. Multitasking, the computer nerd was on his computer again, where he spent hours every day. I yelled out so he knew I was home. He called me into the study.
"Mum check out this email. I asked a company over in America for some information on one of their online games. They sent me a job application form!" He was looking up at me with his big brown eyes, already close to 6 foot tall. I was just five foot three, so it was easier to raise my voice when he was sitting down.
"Mick! You have to finish year twelve, first! Then you’ll either work in Sydney, or go to University, or Tafe. This is the nineties — people don't leave school to travel to America." I couldn't stand the thought of him leaving me, or Australia.
"I also want to talk to you about all this time you’re spending on the computer. You don't have any friends that you interact with. I might have to lock you out of the house so you go out and smell the roses." I knew he would have an answer.
"Didn't we have roses out the front and they died?" Always a smart comment from my son. He was like my dad. "And I think Umina High might report you to the police when I tell them I’m homeless.”
But he did leave. He went to work for the BBC in London, then for a company in Los Angeles, where the boss would take the staff to lunch in his private plane. In Seattle, he worked for Microsoft and now he is working for Amazon in California as a User Experience Designer. And the best is that he married an American and they have given me two beautiful grandchildren.
I am so glad he never listened to me.