Hello, summertime! Remember the significant spring?
It was the time teenage boys became men. The time baby birds pecked themselves out of eggs. Cracklin’ good, but hectic and confusing, too. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” to borrow from Dickens. Like defenseless, demanding baby birds in danger when mom’s away from the nest, are teenage boys wanting to go (and drive) their own way.
Letting go is hard.
It’s a new day with 2 grads in the house. That said, here’s some “best of” reflections of Doing the Senior Shuffle last spring.
Best of Spring 2013
1. Best jumbotron/stage moment: Chris and Austin, academic scholar, reaching for their high school diploma at our rockin’ Willow Creek Church. Trevor (in white) ushered as an honor guard.
2.Best teen2man moment for Austin: Starting a paid, full-time internship at a commercial retail real estate company 2 weeks after his inaugural real estate convention in Las Vegas. He lost a dollar at the slots. That was a good thing!
3. Best teen2man moment for Chris: Spending an eye-popping $278 for 2 college textbooks for summer courses.
4. Best fitness fanatic in our family: Trevor starting both summer baseball and basketball varsity camp as a senior. (He used my transport services to nearly every high school in Chicagoland, nearly every day for 3 weeks. Well, not really, but it sure feels like it!)
5. Best Father’s Day memory: Joining my dad for Father’s Day cigars and more on the Sundeck of his retirement home. (Yes, each 18-year-old tried one. I’d bet it’s their last.)
6. Best (and only) government meeting: Receiving the instruction and responsibilities of “Federal fiduciary” for dispersing Veterans Affairs benefits on behalf of my dad. (Boy were we glad to meet these wonderful Department of Veterans Affairs staffers, David and Sandra.)
7. Best family celebration moment: Hearing my dad say he was happy he was alive to see Austin’s graduation.
8. Best family game at Easter: Watching my dad vs. uncle in a wild and crazy game of pool, while the sisters cheered them on.
9. Best April Fool’s Day prank: Dyeing the milk blue and saying it was bubblegum flavored.
10. Best image of spring flowers: Watching a white star magnolia reach full blossom in our nearby park.
If you liked this 10 “Best of” list, take a look at this previous post, then subscribe to get new posts by email!
The 10 “Best of” Christmas 2012
Filed under: Caregiving for parents, celebrations, Parenting teens
