Baylis Greene

When it comes to dropping a kid off at college, the third time is not necessarily the charm. The practice you’ve had over, say, five years may bestow a veteran status; you know the ropes. A certain callusing of the heart muscle may have taken place. But the pain of the goodbye pierces still. The best you can hope for is that it’s short-lived. And the cosmic seesaw keeps rocking.

Is there such a thing as a coincidence? A guy I’ve known since kindergarten just sent me a YouTube trailer for the 2022 “Roku original” Weird Al Yankovic biopic in which his mother memorably tells young Al across the dining room table, “Your dad and I agreed it would be best if you just stopped being who you are and doing the things you love.” Later, as a teen, Al is brought home by a police officer for illicitly playing the accordion at a polka party.

At a ceremony for my late mother, Jean Lindgren, a couple of weeks ago on Long Beach — tents, giant subs from Cove Deli, alcohol — numerous well-wishers took turns at a microphone to say what she’d meant to them. But not me. This was strategic, as I wanted my kids to speak for the family. Or rather, I liked that the focus would be on them and what they had to say.