Little V

I was over at a very old, dear friend's house last night, and I noticed that her daughter was surfing the net. I casually pointed her in the direction of this blog, then right away realized that there are a few posts one wouldn't want one's best friend's teen-aged daughter to see. I don't know if she'll come back to the site; I'm not going to waste time looking for and editing posts with racy language or sexual content. Nope, not even the one about--well, yeah. Probably that one.

Anyway, I don't think I've pressed the envelope much on this blog (what does that phrase mean, I ask you), but I still worry that she might see something untoward. After all, I've known this kid since she was in utero. I have already corrupted her enough by my mere presence in her life. She reads fantasy books. She likes elves and dragons. She wants to be a WRITER.

I don't even feel guilty about it.

I was hanging with her last night, trying to be all casual and cool, but I don't think I succeeded. Any time a person says words like "relevance" and "western canon" and "whitman" or "melville" in the same conversation, that person is Not Cool. That person is an Academic, which is a synonym for College Geek.

Yeah, I don't feel guilty about that, either.

Anyway, in hanging out with "Little V," I realized how much she has changed. I loved her from the moment I found out she existed, and I was very lucky because her mom let me be a part of her life. I can't even describe how delightful this child was, how much I missed her when I had to leave. And I had to leave a lot -- college, North Carolina, Plattsburgh. When she was little, her mom used to have her call me and ask me to come over, which worked very well when I was in town. When I was out-of-town, it was nigh to impossible. I would answer the phone and hear this little child's voice saying, "Can you come over Right Now?" I wanted to, but I couldn't. V grew up while my eyes were closed. Last night, I listened to her talk about college. COLLEGE?

Is it wrong of me to say that I sometimes miss the little V-ersion?

If V decides to come back and read my Tie-ranting, I want to wish her welcome. She's not a little kid anymore, and she doesn't need me to tell her that (too bad, cause I just did--ha ha!). But she should know that no matter how our relationship changes, I will always adore her. I will cheerfully embarrass her in front of her friends. I will continue to think I am cooler than I really am. And I will love her dearly and wish her Wonder.