It's a trial run, of sorts: He'll start at community college before heading off to the big university he's decided he wants to attend. It's not the classic sending the kid off to college scenario that I once imagined, but in light of the difficulties and general waywardness of the last few years, it's the step he needs to get to that point. An important step. A major step.
The fact that the sending the kid off to college scenario is now something that I might really get to experience in the not-so-distant future is beyond exciting. He has come a tremendous way in a pretty short amount of time and I am so proud of him for that.
I'm not fooling myself into believing that there won't be more setbacks, or that he's suddenly morphed into a responsible adult (my unscientific research tells me that doesn't happen for boys until they are at least 25 and even then there's usually a responsible woman involved), but he's figuring it out. On his own. He's getting his shit together. And he's got a lot more shit than a kid his age should have, so that's a pretty big accomplishment.
Slowly but surely, he's going to find his way. Every hardship and wrong turn and close call will be like dots that are finally connected, revealing a portrait of who and what he's always been meant to be. I'm letting myself believe it.
