I helped my youngest by a small condo in Austin where he’s a new chef at a really nice place on Lamar called Uchiko. He just turned 23 at the end of August so it’s all pretty new to him. I asked myself a few times during the process if I was doing the right thing, meaning, should I hold back, let him sweat it out, pay more rent, deal with getting new roommates, etc. AlI said and done, I made the choice to help. It’s an investment in him and he is worthy. I wanted to speak with him this morning about setting up an ACH payment for his assn. dues so I sent him a text, a kind of forewarning that we needed to talk. I know he works long hours now, and at night. He called back right away, groggy.
My Dad had 8 kids and I am reminded that he always called us really early. I only have 2 boys and to get ahold of either at any time of day is getting progressively difficult. I understand now the tempered urgency in my Dad’s voice and the utter frustration of hearing sleep-filled, indifferent, perhaps hungover responses on the other end of the line. There are things to discuss, to figure out, to check off your parent lists. Things that can keep you up at night. Kid stuff will keep you up at night. I began to get frustrated with mine this morning, had to take a breath, realizing he doesn’t understand the nuances of homeownership. All I wanted to do was take care of it. I’m not going to do that completely, as my Dad didn’t either, but I will think twice about calling that early.