My boy's leaving me - again!!

I am so proud of all my kids!! I know I don't brag enough about them (cough cough), but I am so amazed and proud of each of them. My son, James Rodger Farnworth II, was born last - which gave him a double whammy. Not only was he the youngest, but he was the only boy. When his dad died, he was left alone to deal with all the women!! He's not only survived, but he's flourished into an amazing, sensitive, strong man. He was named after his dad's brother, who died when his dad was very young.

While in high school, Jaja (as he is called by his family), became very involved in stage crew. He has a passion for the behind the scenes theatre. Whenever we go to a show, he's never been one to watch what is going on up on the stage - he's looking at the lights, he's looking at the scenes, he's listening to the sound - but, especially he's watching the lights. He gets all excited when they are amazing, state-of-the-art lights (and he can tell you what they are, what brand they are, what they do). He got a scholarship to go to school in Rock Springs, Wyoming at Western Wyoming College (I was amazed that a school in Rock Springs, Wyoming has a theatre department - but not only do they have a theatre department, it's a FREAKING AMAZING theatre department). He learned so much there!! He was there for two years. When he was done, he went to work at SkyWest Airlines (Oh, how I loved my flight benefits), but was so unhappy there. He got a job at Lagoon Amusement Park doing lights for their entertainment department. So he was working at both places. He LOVED his job - not just a little bit - BUT ALOT!! He talked to his boss and asked if there was anything he could do there to stay there and quit his job at SkyWest (bye bye flight benefits). He became the Technical Manager at Lagoon and worked there and at the Grand Theatre doing Master Electrician work and stage hand work. So, between the two jobs, he was able to survive.

He made the decision this last fall that he wanted to go back to school and get his bachelor's degree in Technical Theatre with a Lighting Design emphasis. He is amazing at what he does. The people he works with always want to take him with them, because he is so great at what he does. He's had offers to go to school at Mont Claire University in New Jersey by one of the theatre directors there, he's had job offers by shows traveling through (like the monkey show at Lagoon), but he's very loyal to Lagoon and said he promised to stay there at least two years because they gave him the Technical Manager position.

So with that, I have to say goodbye to him as he heads off to Utah State University in Logan, Utah (yes, I know he's only a couple hours away, but he's not going to be here with me every day for me to see). I want him to know how very much I love him, how very proud I am of him, what an awesome son, brother, uncle, friend and everything else he is. I love you so very much - you are awesome!!!