Those with older kids will know how often their “career dreams” change throughout their young lives.  From the age of 5 wanting to be a fireman or ballerina, to the age of 15 wanting to be a couch potato.  My 10 year old has gone from a writer to a SWAT team member to a forensic scientist to a writer and back again.  This is normal.

My 15 year old, however, watched a newscast a few years ago about how General Practitioners were fading… not many docs went into this general practice, they all seem to be choosing to specialize.  So he mentioned in passing that maybe he’d be a GP.  I took it with a grain of salt.  I’d guess this was about 3-4 years ago.

He’s never stopped talking about it.  I hate to get my hopes up, I really do – but he seems so FOCUSED on this.  He’s actually researched it.  He’s paid attention to the news.  He has tried to educate himself on what it will involve. 

Friday he came home from school bearing his grade card with a large stamp on it that said HONOR ROLL.  This is a first for this kid – he’s so smart, but he’s not “homework smart”.  Put a test, any test, in front of him that he never studied for, and he’ll ace it – not missing one question.  But give him boring homework and he just doesn’t do it – so he doesn’t get high marks because of missing assignments.  This boy, who a year ago found himself in a bit of trouble with us and had to stay in our Maximum Security PrisonHouse for six months, has evolved into a mature, responsible young adult, and I cried.  I cried when I saw the sheet, I cried when I called my Mommy to tell her that her grandson has his head out of his arse, I am choking up now as I type it.  But that’s not what really hit home.

He came home yesterday with the information about the vocational school he can go to next year as a Junior.  He took it upon himself to meet with the representative from the school (I had NO IDEA he was doing this), discussed whether or not the additional education had the courses required to jump start his career, and found that they do indeed offer the science courses necessary to begin a career in medicine. 

I think it’s really happening.

I thought the same when he started playing the saxophone in 6th grade though.  He got bored with that.  In his defense, he picked up this complex brass instrument and took to it like he’d been playing it for years, so maybe he got bored.  I paid for private lessons that I wonder if he even needed.  The boy was awesome.  But he wanted to stop.

From my mouth to God’s ears, let him not want to stop his dream of becoming a doctor.  I hope I don’t jinx anything by typing this out, but I could absolutely just BURST with pride right now.  All is right with my world.