April 2021

Guest speakers came to St. Francis this month, so I asked Nick about the event. After several minutes of prodding, he finally shared a little.  "This girl from Haiti had a horrible life and now she doesn't, and this deaf priest with deaf kids and deaf parents was a good speaker."  Priest with kids?  Is it any wonder the class where he can't make the grade is religion? He doesn't pay attention. His grandpa planted the pumpkin plant from January in the garden, and when he shows Nick, the kid asks, "Is that a tomato?" No, it's the plant you started.  Driving the slalom, hits the cone.  But give him an assignment on his laptop to build something, and the attention to detail is all there.  Only if he's interested.

He's finally had his first old t-shirt tossed when he wasn't looking, would wear the same stained shirt with holes in it every day, outgrew it two years ago.  Probably should have kept it for his summer job mowing the lawn, but he can't be trusted to wear is only when appropriate.  And he got a lesson in darning socks because he wears holes in socks so fast, either from the long toenails or the intense way he walks.

All that said, about annoying teenage patterns, his piano recital was excellent.  Yeah, he messed up from lack of practice, but the talent is still there, and listening to him play is magical.  His grandmama stayed to watch him play before returning to Alabama.
Oh, and there was Easter Sunday in there somewhere.  Brandi continues to keep him engaged by placing cash in the plastic eggs. Twenty dollar bills make egg hunts much more interesting.

A few pics here.

Jason

February & March 2021

Nick laid low in February and March while Brandi and Lisa continued working in the attic (or falling through it), so the men stayed hidden to avoid an assignment.  We don't mind working, but prefer to stick with what we know, like detailing the Mini for Grandmama while she flew home for a couple weeks.  And we trimmed back Grandpa's hedges for the spring.

He had Eli over one afternoon for a couple hours, so inviting friends to the house (even if they are masked) is some sense of normal. We continue to practice his driving when there's time to ourselves, and we've been to the park a couple times to play catch.  Sadly the most eventful activity of the month is that everyone except Nick now has all of their Covid vaccinations.

Nick's quote of the month, as he picks at the rubber bands on his braces: "I hate being asymmetrical."

January 2021

I didn't think these post would continue, at 14 Nick doesn't want to be talked about, can't get him to write about himself... can't get him to do much of anything, really. The photos are dwindling, Covid doesn't help, and each day feels routine.  But we'll go a little longer. We did celebrate briefly for his birthday, his mother got him balloons and hid them in my closet, which he found ahead of time, even though he never goes in my closet. I imparted on him how critical it was for him to act surprised when she brought them out.  Good life lesson.  Otherwise, life lessons are slow, since he's dialed out most of the time.  His grandpa is willing to pay him for piano practice, but he doesn't. I have a very short list of chores that can earn him money, but he doesn't.  He did blow $450 on a model train, so his fun money is gone, not sure how he'll earn it back.  All that said, he's making the grade at school, was Student of the Week at karate, and listening to him tickle the ivorys is beautiful.  And he shoveled the snow, once. Work in progress.

Grandmama came to stay for a month to help Brandi work on the house. It was a game of musical beds to find her a comfortable spot, which came to an end when she fell asleep with a box of Cheeze-Its and turned Nick's bed dressing yellow/orange.  Nick whispers to me, "she's going to the cot, I'm taking my bed back."  She's so good to him, though, soldering his train parts, talking for hours about nothing. At dinner one evening, Nick motioned to the last steak on the table, and I pointed to his grandmother, to suggest he should offer it to her before he takes it.  Instead, he looks at what's left on her plate and says, "You gonna eat that?"

As we try to toughen him up, his mother says he's afraid of me, which I disagree.  If he was genuinely afraid of me, would he look at me when I'm pissed at say, "If I could draw some eyebrows on you it would be easier to read your emotions."

 2021 Photos here.

Jason

December 2020

Nick spends any free moment buried in his office upstairs on the laptop, chatting with friends who could be anywhere, about building who-knows-what. When he's forced from the chair, then he creates memes on his phone or tablet and shares those, most of which I don't understand.  I get the penis jokes with pop cans, but generally speaking the humor eludes me.  We try to coax him down for a little TV, but if it's not awful television like the fifth sequel to Tremors, it can't hold his attention.  And his mother likes shows where people die, which he hides up the stairs peeking down when someone is about to die.

Under quarantine there aren't many places to go, which is OK with Nick.  I dragged him out of the house on a Saturday morning for the donation drive at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Bring a toy donation and take laps around the track in your own vehicle.  The idea got out of hand in a quarantine year, though, so many bored people showed up it was a mess... a three hour wait to get onto the track, two laps instead of five, it made for a long day.  But it was worth it, and the crowds relegated the rules irrelevant, so we were passing on the track, no forms to sign, just to get through the crowds.  Nick shot some cool video from inside our 300.

My favorite line of the month wasn't from Nick. I get an aggressive call from the Tailor that we've left clothes for pickup, so I ask Brandi what could be there. "I left some clothes there that Nick outgrew."  "How long ago?" "I don't know, maybe he was 4 or 5."  Perhaps she was calling with a storage bill for nine years.
I missed half the month traveling for work, from Houston to Orlando, and returning to a negative test for COVID so I could enjoy the holidays after an exposure in Houston.  I made a long drive to take equipment to the Orlando Auto Show, since the kids couldn't cover the work, so it was generally a shortened holiday (no two week break, just a couple of days.) I didn't enjoy Florida, just worked and returned with crappy oranges.  It was just good to return to a quiet Christmas at home.  My reward was listening to Nick play the piano, which he only practices now when we leave the house, but his play is outstanding, and he's writing some music for a school project.  He has talent, if he can hold the interest.

Photos here.

Jason

November 2020

Think kids aren't paying attention?  Nick is more in-tune at 14 than I was, for sure.  As the end of election day drew to a close, Nick walked through the great room, glanced at the TV for all of one minute, and mumbled, "Next comes the lawyers," and continued upstairs. Wow, was he accurate.

There was an exposure to COVID at school, and Nick was required to get a test, which he cooperated admirably.  We played dueling zippers while we waiting in the car, took over an hour to get through the test, despite having an appointment, which they didn't find, and were taking us as a drive-up.

He had an outstanding school report, from grades to teacher feedback, so no complaints.  (That was before he bombed his exams, which he can't explain... he doesn't seem to study, he plays the averages and calculates what he can get away with.)  That said, he mentioned in passing he had his scheduled changed for Q3 to get gym at the end of the day, so he can plan ahead, make inquiries, and adjust.  That in itself was a bit surprising.

Nick got braces in November, which seemed like no big deal until he tried to eat, and the pain set in hard. It was slow chewing for about two weeks, but it's still an easier process than thirty years ago, they had him out of the office quick, few brackets, minimally invasive.


Brandi made an amazing dinner at Thanksgiving, as always, with more food than we could consume.  Nick doesn't see to appreciate the meals, food is just always there for him, the mini-fridge is always stocked.  But he understands value, his grandmother asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he says, "How about $500?"

Photos are combined with December, to save time this month.

Jason