Who Knows What Hardships Lurk In The Lives Of Kids? The Mama Knows.

Today is the last Friday of the month. You know what that means. ROAD TRIP! Wait. That was the Deltas of Animal House, after an inspiring speech by Bluto, when Dean Wormer put them on double-secret probation and tried to kick them out of Faber College because of low grade point averages, including a 0.0, and told Flounder that "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

No, around here, Last Friday is the day Mrs. Hillbilly Mom picks up her mother and takes her for a ride as she pays her bills. It is also the day that Mrs. Hillbilly Mom used to deposit a pittance into her #1 son's checking account so he had money to buy groceries because his meal plan was not fitting his needs. With #1 working hard for his money this summer, that pittance was stopped. Seriously. The kid thought he was swingin' the world by the tail (which reminds me of one of my favorite ol' twangy country tunes, "Before I Met You," by Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner, so here it is if you have 1:21 to spare).

So today was kind of bittersweet, my boy out on his own in the working world. I grew nostalgic for the times he used to need me. And I put some money in his checking account. Just because.

Mom and I were just starting back towards Hillmomba, after having a sit-down lunch, when the black cloud above opened up and pelted us with a step of the water cycle. I parked on the lot of Lowe's and sent #1 a text. "Do you want the good news or bad news first?" Like me, he chose the bad news.

"You can't ask me for gas money anymore."

"Why not?"

"That's the good news. I put money in your account."

"You are a lifesaver! I was going to have to scrounge through the weekend, until I get my next paycheck. Not that I am a frivolous spender."

"I know you are thrifty."

"I have to pay rent again this weekend. I get paid on the 15th."

Oh, dear. My poor boy. I know what his first paycheck was. It was only for two weeks' work. Out of that, he will now have paid rent twice, and sent me $500 for money I advanced him until payday. That took the entire paycheck! So he has had his stipend from Missouri Boys State, and his pay from the wedding photography to live on since the last week of May. I'm surprised he hasn't been selling his plasma. I suppose he was too proud to ask for another advance from me.

There was a reason I felt the need to put money in his account. A mama knows.