The Graduate

Last night Sean, my second-born, graduated from 8th grade.

The boy looked pretty spiffy in his black pants and red button-front shirt.
He looked...grown-up, sort-of...
A man-child.
Although he didn't come right out and say it,
I think he actually liked how it looked and felt to dress up.
But you DIDN'T hear that from me. Silencio, por favor. :)

It seems that with Sean's mild-mannered ways,
he usually gets paired, in every school event,
with the more difficult kids.
So I was glad for him that graduation proved to be
a diversion from that long-standing pattern.
He walked in with one of his good friends
and sat by another of his good friends during the ceremony.
Nice.

After the requisite post-grad picture-taking,
Sean re-outfitted muy rapido...
Shorts and a t-shirt, of course.

The after-party was shared with Sean's cousin and best friend, Derek.
In vintage Sean fashion, while everyone else was chatting and eating maple bar cake
in the family room, Sean was to be found in the quiet of the kitchen, conversing just with Derek.

The boys made such a haul of cash that it made me think I should find something to graduate from. Hmmmmm......
Needless to say, with the loot burning a hole in the grad's pocket and no school to attend or homework to do, today we started scoping out new guitars.

Grad night was a good night.
At the beginning of eighth grade, I couldn't imagine how Sean would be ready for this moment,
but he is.
It's time to move on.
High school. Wow.

These milestones are always good times to reflect
on the fascinating creations that God allows us access to.
On the faithfulness of His care all along the way.
Some of the future things that will happen in the next four to ten years
of Sean's life are admittedly intimidating.
But I see the faithfulness and power of my God so far.
I see the limited nature of my ability to affect the outcome.
I know that the ONE who loves Sean best and knows him most intimately
Is also the Only One who does have the ability to affect the outcome.
We're truly blessed to be called children of this One.
We're truly blessed to be His partners in the journey of
The Graduate.

Yeah, Sean. You made it!!!
We love and enjoy you LOTS. :)

Forty

Two hours and nine minutes ago, I turned 40.

I feel like I should be waxing philosophical
and reflecting on life...

But IT'S MY BIRTHDAY.

I just finished my "employed-outside-the-home"
work for the week,
my house is relatively clean,
I have some new books from Barnes and Noble,
and I reallly have no desire to be sitting in front of the computer.

I will tell you about being forty...later.
Seriously...
there's partying to do! :)

Fourteen

Four days and one hour ago, my second-born turned 14.

Sean
My quiet one
with the dry sense of humor.
The one whose eyes sparkled as a 5-year-old kindergartener when the teacher would tell jokes that flew high over the other kids' heads.

Sean
the inventor, player and collector of games.
The reader of manuals.
The home-body.
The content one.
The lover of all things historical and geographical.

Sean
The master of wordplay.
My least verbal one, who, ironically, has contributed the most to the family vocabulary.
"Circle try" = motorcycle
"Magic Chowder" = powdered sugar
Et al.
A typical Sean exchange a number of years ago:
Mom "Wow. That was a huge bird. I wonder if it was an eagle or a hawk."
Sean "It was a hawk. I didn't see it, but it was a hawk."

Sean
My sleep talker.
Camping trips are always interesting, when we all sleep in close proximity to one another. Invariably a classic Sean-sleep-talking line emerges such as:
"I COLLECT COWS!!!!"

Sean
The one little kids LOVE.
It's a gift, most surely.
I continually marvel when this boy is around little kids;
he's literally a KID MAGNET.
They climb on him, hug him, want him when they're hurt.
He makes them giggle like nobody's business.
The little ones know he's one cool kid.

Sean
The musician.
The guitar was your salvation in 7th grade (thank you Mr. Smit),
and now I can't believe the sounds that emanate from your room
as your fingers fly across the strings.

Sean
The complex and quietly amazing one.
Not many people get to see how tender is your heart
and how much you despise injustice in the world.
Your creativity is not easily quantifiable, but it is THERE.
I think you're a closet Renaissance Man
and it will take a long time for the world to see and appreciate your special brand of sweet ingenuity.

You're the hardest of our three kids to characterize,
because of your many subtleties.
And therein lies the beauty of Sean:
We get to keep discovering more and more of you.

Happy 14th Seany J.
You are loved.

By the Numbers

One
sick boy.

Six
days of fever.

Zero
hours spent at school (Sean).
hours spent in the office (Meg).

Ten
choices of beverages in the fridge
in hopes of keeping the sick boy hydrated.

Three
hours of History Channel viewing (average daily).

Six
DVD episodes of "Everest:Beyond the Limit" (four consecutively).

Too numerous to count
segments of "Spongebob Squarepants".

One-tenth (approximately)
the usual nearly-fourteen-year-old appetite.

Twenty or less
miles put on my car this week.

Hundreds
of precious minutes alone with my boy
bringing drinks,
monitoring temps,
editorializing on TV shows,
exchanging expressions of care disguised as sarcasm,
and taking care of my almost-high schooler
who doesn't require mom's services
for much of anything anymore.

One
morning without a fever.

One
recovering boy.

and

One
slightly cabin-fevered,
weary,
but happy
mom.

Just One

I wish I could start AND finish a project at my house.
Just one.
I don't even care WHICH one;
Any of the many will do.

I'm a great starter and a lousy finisher.
"Highly distractible" perhaps.
Can you spell A.D.D.?

Maybe putting this JUST ONE desire in writing
will be the motivation I need.

I'll keep you posted. :)