Catching Up

Hard to believe that Januray has passed without a lot to talk about.  January feels like one of the longest months ever; I think it is about 137 days long.  Short days and cold temperatures make it that way. 

Sam is doing well at UNC.  Her Fall 2018 semester is officially over now that she has taken her last final.  Winter storms in December resulted in closing the campus for two days and postponing finals during that week. She has made the transition from Community College to University life pretty well.  She still needs to learn her limitations as they related to managing her academics and social life.  She has become a Tar Heels basketball fan - with fervor.  Texting us when UNC was falling to UVA made me realize that she is emotionally invested - how awesome is that?  She is making some of the same mistakes I made in my transition from local college to a four year school.  I am bemused more than concerned when she goes out partying. 

The boys are doing well.  TJ is struggling in 6th Grade with the social aspect of classroom behavior.  He has a group of friends that, by fourth period, are pushing each other’s buttons and the buttons of the teacher.  TJ is polite to his teachers but aloof to being responsible for his actions and words.  One In-school suspension so far for his behavior.  After a meeting with his teachers, they are convinced that TJ will grow out of this by 7th Grade.  TJ is an extrovert. Neither Lisa nor I are.  This makes understanding him and his motivations a little challenging for us.  His ability to live life out loud is something we will have to learn to live with and help him know how to control those impulses. Of course - he brings that attitude home too.  He is starting to talk back to Lisa. This is the onset of adolescence and a ‘natural’ behavior, but it is still cause for fireworks from time to time.  He got all dressed up for a cotillion the other day.  He looked sharp in a tuxedo.  As he reported back afterwards, "I didn't like it, but I sorta did." 

Grant is a budding scientist and/or engineer.  In January he made a “motor” out of copper wire, magnets, and batteries.  This month he learned how to make a ball “float” using a hairdryer.  His curiosity on how things work is truly amazing.  His mind is always on the go as he spends his time watching “how-to” videos on YouTube.  He is academically competitive and strives to get top grades.  If he doesn’t he gets upset. He benefits from seeing his brother get punished and rewarded for his behaviors.   He recently took 2nd Place at a community art show!  Art and science in one kid!

As a result, Lisa and I are spending a lot of time parenting.  It’s a tag team effort where I usually make school lunches and Lisa gets the boys off to school.  We manage basketball practices, cotillion rehearsals, and comings and goings of a modern family with lots of demands on its time. We are in that stage of life where we are a mile wide and an inch deep. We have also joined our neighbors in a team 2019 mile running challenge for the year.  We all log our miles on one app and it totals our progress.  Considering the bad weather we still logged over 200 miles in January.  At this pace we might even finish by October! Lisa spent the whole month of January sugar and alcohol free. I think she did a phenomenal job avoiding the temptation of candy and booze - with the exception of the night that Bobby passed.

Bobby took up a lot of time and concern over the month of January and we are still reeling from his death.  His illness in December was far worse than we imagined and the toll it took on his heart was simply too much - I don’t have any other explanation.  We made a video of his eulogy and posted it on YouTube for his friends to watch since they couldn’t attend the service.  As of this post the video has over 700+ views - an amazing testament to the power of love and friendship and defining those relationship-emotions in ways some of us cannot appreciate.

That's it for now.