Thanks for the memories!

 Happy Tuesday! It is only 3 more days until oldest son graduates from high school. Sigh. Today’s blog will be dedicated to some of my favorite memories from oldest son’s high school career. There are so many, that honestly, it was hard to choose. I did find a recurring theme in my trip down memory lane and that is the first day of school photos and how I felt as each year was starting. We have a tradition that, we, like many others, always take a picture on the first day of school before they start off on their new adventure. So here are my memories:

Freshman year:  Wow! My baby is going to high school. Am I that old? Is he that old? Is he ready? Am I ready? He looks so handsome in his khaki shorts, knit polo and sperry’s. When did he grow up? Will he make friends? He was very excited to start his new high school and I was a nervous wreck. I drove him to school and I kissed him on the top of his head before he got out of the car. I was afraid I had made a social error in doing this, but he looked at me and told me it was fine. He still allows me to do this. Even in front of his friends.

Sophomore year:  Hubby and I were married at this point and youngest stepson was starting his freshman year at Catholic. It was awesome to see the older brother looking out for the younger one. They are both independent persons, but this year started out what was to be many times of laughter as they recounted their days at the dinner table regarding the shenanigans (as hubby says) at school. I will miss this next year. This was also the year oldest son was diagnosed with hypercalcemia/hypoparathyroidism. We spent many hours seeing at what turned out to be 7 different doctors and finally ended up at the UAMS cancer institute. This is the year I saw my son turn into a man. He had too many medical tests to count, too many blood draws and too many unanswered questions. He is known as “Patient X” at UAMS and the Mayo Clinic as they still do not have a confirmed diagnosis for him other that what was stated above. He wears this title proudly.  He is loved by all of his doctors and nurses and took all of it in stride. He hardly ever complained and did not let his mystery illness define who he was or affect him as a person. Even when we had to wait an awful 4 weeks for a cancer test to come back negative he kept a positive attitude. He will for the rest of his life go to twice a year doctor appointments at UAMS and have multiple tests ran every year, but as he always says to me, “I got this, mom”.

Junior year:  I was told this was the hardest year at Catholic. I was nervous about this year and what it would bring academically. He did amazing, by the way.  This was the year we started our college tours. I loved these trips. I remember our trip to Ole Miss and his first experience with a real college campus. He was overwhelmed and thrilled all at the same time. This was also the year that it hit me that he would be headed off to college soon. Yikes! Our biggest challenge of this year was curfew. I abided by city curfew and apparently I am the only one in Little Rock who “makes” their kid do this. I told him when he was 18; I did not care anymore as he was not breaking any laws, but until then, city curfew. Believe it or not, I stuck to it and he did survive.

Senior year:  This has been my favorite year. All the traditions I mentioned yesterday are worth the wait. Ring Mass started us off and it was amazing. I told Mr. Straessle afterwards, you better have something amazing planned for graduation because it is going to be hard to top this! This was also the year that everyone started hanging out at our house. It is rare to have a Friday or Saturday night alone at our house and I love it. Jake’s friends make me laugh and I love being a tiny part of this part of his life. We made the college decision, finally! This was very stressful. He was accepted to all 8 schools he applied for. In the end, he chose University of Arkansas. Once a Razorback, always a Razorback. I am just thankful that process is over.

 So, thanks for the memories, my son. I am excited to see what memories college will bring you over the next four years. I know I will not be a part of most of it and I am okay with that. You are an amazing son and I am so very proud of you!

Hugs!