Say Yes as Often as You Can

 A neat thing happened to Grant, and I last night!  

While Mom and TJ were in Virginia looking at schools, Grant and I decided to ditch making dinner at home and go out for dinner.  Our first choice was sushi but both places we went to were closed on Mondays, so we ended up at the Aviator Smokehouse for wings. The Aviator Smokehouse makes some of the best wings around - smoked first and then flash fried for a little crispiness.  Yum.

As we were leaving Grant noticed a man in the Aviator's event space and said that he looked a lot like a YouTuber, Jake Weddle, that he follows.  I told Grant that the place was hosting a Comedy Night and it might him.  We confirmed it - Jake Weddle was on the bill!

Here is where parenting can be fun. The easy thing to do is say that it's cool and continue on to the car and go home. Sometimes parenting is all about just getting home to unwind. Being a parent, saying "No" is so much easier sometimes. However, a few years ago, I made a choice to say "Yes" more often and so I did the quick calculus and asked Grant if he wanted to meet the guy.

I went into the space where they were having the show and politely asked Jake if he would do a nice thing for a Veteran on Veterans Day and say hello to a teenage fan.  he eagerly agreed and posed for a couple of pictures with Grant.  

Teenagers can be so "been-there-done-that" who cannot be impressed by anything. Tonight, however, Grant was grinning ear to ear having met a famous person.  

I loved being a dad in that moment.

Perfect Memory

The Fuquay-Varina Middle School Football team just completed its first perfect season in almost 30 years! 

Letting Grant play football was a parenting challenge for us. He never played on a youth team. He might be tall, but he is skinny. His hand-eye coordination is average at best. However, last year he made his case and we agreed to let him play.  

Last year he didn't play much - for all of the reasons listed above. However, this year, as a 8th Grader, Grant got more playing time. Grant usually played on Special Teams and once an a while as a Receiver.  Knowing my son as I do, I could detect the ever so slight hesitation in him running into someone at full speed and hurling his body into them.  Grant was an average player but a great teammate.  He always supported his team and fellow players and even earned the coveted postion of "Bus DJ" with his tune selection.

Grant knows that his future probably does not include football and will very likely involve running.  Grant is a very good runner.  However, for two years he was football player.  I love that for him.

There is so much I cannot remember from Middle School. My memories are of dances at the Middle School, realizing that girls exist, and  that awkward time of adolescence.  I certainly didn't participate in sports aside from Little League Baseball - and I wasn't good at it at all.  

I hope that Grant holds on to this memory. Years from now, I hope he remember that year, way back in 2024, when they opened the new Fuquay-Varina Middle School and he was one of the first students to walk the halls and his coached worked the team hard to go 7W-0L.  

Go Bengals!
 

PR for the Win

TJ's High School Cross Country career is almost over, but not before setting an incredible PR that set a new Willow Spring School record but most likely also propelled the team to win the Conference Championship!

TJ always has a solid performance when he runs. Compared to you and me, he is astoundingly fast. Compared to his peers, he is in the top 10-20 of the runners in his meets. As good as he is, TJ is not overly competitive. He has been caught several times, chatting with his rivals, catching up on what they did over summer break, or even encouraging them to run up that Wake med hill.  He knows this about himself. His coach knows. His parents know. It is frustrating because he does not push himself to reach his maximum potential.  

And then, once in a while, he lets all that go and does the incredible.  The greater Neuse River Conference meet was at Wake Med Soccer Park. It is a course TJ knows well.  Down the hill, through the woods, back up the hill, around the park and into the woods again, and finish up that hill! My advice to TJ is the always the same, go out fast, find your pace, and finish strong. Yesterday was no different.

I try to work around work and go to TJ's senior year events. Work does not need me to sit in front of screen as much as my son needs to see that his dad cares to see him compete.  Lisa is almost always there.

TJ started his race and went out strong. Lisa moved to the bottom of the hill and I positioned myself at the halfway point. As he came up the hill at the one-mile mark he was in the first three runners and looked good. His other teammates, the ones who are usually ahead of him, were a good 30 seconds behind. I thought there was no way he could maintain for another two miles. Right?!

There is about 10 minutes between the first run up the hill and the second run up the hill to the finish line. With shouts of "here they come," the runners came out of the woods and TJ was still in the top three and shoulder to shoulder with another runner. My excitement was bursting, and I screamed for him to push the hill. I looked at my stopwatch as I watched him head to the finish line. I couldn't see the finish line, but I could guestimate - and I hit the red STOP button.  It read 16:36. 

I ran to the finish area. TJ was on the ground as most runners are after 3.1 miles at their top speed. I helped him up and hugged him. I told him his time. He couldn't believe it. Neither could I. He was almost 30 seconds faster than his best time. His time was faster than is buddy, Jack, ever ran for the school. 

TJ set the Willow Spring High School Cross Country record.  

The next ten minutes were filled with joy, incredulity (literally a Holy $hit moment), and cheers. Lisa came up the hill and hugged TJ. His teammates were blown away by his time.  The Willow Spring Athletic Director high fived TJ.  TJ was having his best day ever.

I am not entirely sure how scoring works, but I am pretty sure that his finish put the boys' team into First Place for the first every Conference win and a new trophy for the case at the school. At least that's the story we will tell.