Teen Talents

We opted to work at the home office today, responding to that threat of 8 or 10 inches of snow and slush. Some days I am so glad when the weather man is wrong! While we did get the infamous "wintry mix" -- and it's still coming down -- it was not like we were snowed in or iced in. Yet.

Thankfully, unlike some areas of the state, we did not experience any power outages either -- since we needed both computers running.

Oh and maybe the TV.

I'm not saying I did take a break and watch any of The Masters. But if I did, I would have seen this kid, yes kid, playing as the youngest participant in the tournament. Ever.

Tianlang Guan is 14 -- Carter's age! And here this 8th-grader from China is competing for the coveted Green Jacket alongside golf greats like Tiger, Lefty, the Big Easy and Freddie Couples... and the boy is cool, calm and collected.

And a darn good golfer. That's what I heard, I mean.

You know, when we're kids we want to group up to be someone rich and famous because of some great talent! As adults and/or parents, we badger kids about what they want to be when they grow up. How is a kid to know? Do we?

Typically, if they are really into a sport, for example, they will believe they are going to play that sport professionally some day. I think Carter flirted with a basketball career once. That was before he even played. And before he realized what happens when you have two non-tall parents!

Most of us adults don't all have that super-great talent we dreamed about to earn us the big bucks. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up and if, in fact, I really want to grow up! Sounds hard. And boring.

For today, my most important role -- not a money-maker at all -- is being a supportive, encouraging mother, no matter what direction Carter may want to go. For sure, it's not basketball and unlikely golf. But I can tell you -- without bias -- he did one heckuva job tonight in the area band contest.

Bands from our conference schools each performed three songs in front of some serious-looking judges. While we in the audience couldn't hear the judges' critiques, we certainly heard a great band! Our kids are seriously good.

So if Carter ends up wearing a Royal Blue jacket instead of the famous Green one, I'm more than OK with that. In fact, I couldn't be prouder. Heck he's already had his 15-minutes of fame on TV during the state basketball tournament anyway.

I'm pretty sure there are just as many people watching that as The Masters. Right?