Perfect gift!

Back before I retired, Reed told me that he'd ordered a retirement gift for me, but that it wouldn't come until June or July. Intriguing! Well, the day finally arrived.... 

This is my all-time favorite movie. It's a special "Criterion Collection" edition, which improved the visual and audio quality from the original 1938 movie, and has a special new cover (which is awesome). 

I love that Reed came up with this idea on his own. He's a real movie buff, so it's great that he was able to tap into that and make a connection with something I love.

We watched the movie the other night, Tod, Reed and me. It made me so happy to see him laughing along with this movie, which goes a mile a minute with the humor. I am grateful to see us making a connection through movies. He's a good kid.

Reed's first job!

It's finally happened - Reed has his first job! He searched the local job listings after graduation and saw that the local franchise for Woofie's was hiring, and applied. Woofie's does in-home pet care - dog walks/feeding, and other kinds of pets as well. Aly worked for the Woofie's in Ashburn for a couple of years when she was home from school, so Reed knew a little bit about it. He had a phone interview, then an in-person chat as he turned in his background check paperwork, and was hired as a contractor. The owners came along on the first two different dog clients he had, but since then he's been on his own. He's always been really good about getting himself up in time to get to school or wherever he needed to be, so he's been managing it completely on his own (as he should, he's 18!).

It seems this franchise is still in growth mode. The jobs haven't been as plentiful as he (and we) hoped. But this is a great first job experience for him and one that will hopefully help prepare him for future jobs down the road.