Jonathan will celebrate his fifteenth birthday on Sunday and has requested Chinese takeaway for dinner. Sha requested us to check out the hours, and it appears that they will be open for business.
Now, I am remembering my own fifteenth birthday. Most other birthdays have faded deep into the fog of my brain, but 15 is one that I recall all too well.
Just a few days prior, I had bid farewell to my friends in Montreal, and then I found myself all alone in an unfamiliar semi-rural environment, well outside of Toronto. From living in a four-plex in Montreal, I was now dwelling in a flimsy cottage on a nursery with greenhouses in front and nursery acreage behind. It was a two-mile walk to the nearest corners to get bread and milk.
While I didn't know it at the time, I was sad, lonely and reeling. I was taken to school in a bus, having barely even seen a school bus in Montreal, and the school system worked differently. It was hard for a boy who had only known one environment, and it didn't help that the boy was an introvert.
For several years I vowed to return to Montreal when I graduated, but I never did. It took me years to find my footing and be happy with my new life, but I got there.
I think JJ's fifteenth will be happier than mine was, and I hope the rest of his life will be as happy as mine has been.
I hope JJ will have a happy life. That is a horrible age to move and especially to move from a big city to a small area. I can imagine it was very difficult for you.
ReplyDeleteGoogle.... we all worry about privacy except if you have a phone or a computer, there really isn't much privacy!
Hope Jonathan has a good birthday and that it will be better than yours was.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to your grandson on his fifteenth.
ReplyDeleteIt had to have been hard for you at fifteen to move from a vibrant city like Montreal to a country setting. Isn’t it amazing how we adapt when the situation requires it though each does it in his own time.
Oh, take pics of the Chinese food and decor. I am curious as how you Canadians do Chinese. I didn't know you were an introvert, as you socialize a lot, judging from your blog posts.
ReplyDeleteOh that must have been a bit traumatic...teen boy suddenly dealing with such a strange environment. I admit that due to following job opportunities I move my teen son from not one but two high schools...and he never complained. Fortunately he made friends pretty easily, but I know it was a real chore just growing up as well as having new environments. You both seem to have come out ok thought! Hope the Chinese food celebration is fun. I think another week before Chinese New Year.
ReplyDeleteI've learned not to trust google estimated hours of operation due to having been burned many times in the past. I'm guessing google roams the internet scooping up posted times every so often to come up with that list. When counting on them being open, I usually check their actual website or call in advance.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a shock. No wonder you recall it vividly.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember my 15th!
I recall Josephine's, as we were joking about her being 16 and getting car keys!
Happy birthday to the young lad!
That would be so hard and the fact that you remember your feelings so distinctly these many years later shows how pivotal it was. Now I want some Chinese food! Thai is big around here; I don't think we have a Chinese restaurant nearby. Happy 15th to JJ!
ReplyDeleteSometimes these reminders tell me that I was stalked!
ReplyDeleteA kinda sad story--but you seem to have adjusted at last.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Mr Fifteen.
ReplyDeleteYour own must have been traumatic. I don't have any idea what I did on any of mine. I'm glad you adapted anyway.
Google does a lot of snooping. That's ok. My life isn't all that excitting.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your grandson.
Some kids thrive on moves and changes. Others are devastated.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of things that you could recollect (from your 15th birthday)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to JJ. I find Google tracking unnerving, too. It tracked me to Letchworth Park last year and I didn't turn it on. I merely took my phone, and it knew all.
ReplyDeleteThat is a sad story, AC. Things were so different back in the day. There was no internet, and who could afford a long distance phone call at 15? Moving away from a place meant losing the friends, most of the time, unless you were lucky enough to be and know a letter writer. Did you ever see those friends again?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful birthday wish for JJ.
ReplyDeleteI cannot recall my own fifteenth, but it was a while ago, after all. Happy birthday to Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteTough to move at that time of life and even tougher to go into a different environment. I am thinking that someone going from where you landed to urban Montreal would be equally at sea.
ReplyDeleteHow can he be fifteen. Already. You blink, and they grow up. It appears he is still the charming lad that he has been from the start.
Chinese food. Drooling, here.
When you write about J.J. you also write about yourself. So happy you have each other.
ReplyDeleteTime does certainly fly. I can hardly believe JJ is 15 already.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for the loneliness and sadness you had to suffer through as a 15 year old, but I wonder if in the end it also helped you grow and understand the pain of others even more also.
I'm reading the book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and it's making me ponder a lot about life experiences.
Ugh AC you have made my eyes sting. We moved once or twice a year when I was a kid. I barely learned the names of the kids sitting on either side of me in the classroom before we moved again. It was awful and what you described brought it to mind. I'm sorry that happened to you. They say that old age is not for sissies, but childhood isn't either. xoxo
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