My son is totally cool.

Last night, while making dinner, my son came into the kitchen with his bass guitar and a couple of CD's...

OK. Pause.

His best friends play guitar and they have their own band! He's gone to a few garage concerts (at another friend's house) It's at a safe fun, adult supervised, chem free place so I don't mind him going. They have a huge concert at least once a year and all the 'school' bands take turns playing. He has gone to a few and really liked them. So, I bought him a Fender Jazz Bass for Christmas two years ago, wondering if he'd play it or be interested in it. It's a sweet one too, it's royal blue and he takes very good care of it.

OK. Resume.

He didn't say anything, but I knew he had an agenda... I asked him "What's on the CD's?" He said "Oh, it is just a couple of music CD's that I made." So I said "Anything I'd like?"

He said "Yeah!" and that was all it took to get him talking. He pulled (out of no where) the tabs he printed off the internet and showed me what he's been practicing. I was interested to hear what he could do and he said that he could play a few of the songs on the CD he had in his hand, I said, "Well, lets hear it!" He put in the CD, I took a seat in a kitchen chair next to Geoffrey and we listened.

The first song he played was by Kings of Leon, but don't ask me the second song. Not because I didn't know it, or because I wasn't paying attention... But, as he played, I watched his fingers - and it seemed to me that the music wasn't coming from a CD player at all. It was coming from HIM. I was fixated. I was amazed.

My eyes teared up, and I tried not to let any of them fall out, because he gets so embarassed when I do that. (He's 16, and there is a lot of stuff that upsets 16 year old boys, as I am finding out!) Gosh! Just sitting here writing this, thinking about listening to him and seeing the efforts he's put into teaching himself how to play, makes me teary.

Do you know the feeling of having your chest filled with pride to the point that it physically hurts and feels as though it will explode? I can't explain it any better than that, but if you're a proud parent, I don't need to.

My son is totally cool and I didn't realize how cool he was until last night. I am so flattered that he came to seek me out, guitar and CD in hand to show me his talent. I've heard him up in his room 'playing' and at bed time have always told him to 'turn it down please', but I had no idea that he was so talented. I am not going to ask him to turn it down anymore.

Who knows, he could be the next Les Claypool, Larry Graham, Jeff Berlin, Flea, Victor Wooten, John Paul Jones or Jaco Pastorius!

Rock on with your bad self, I sure am!

H