Nicolas officially began football practice (kicker) at Dordt on August 10. I mistakenly thought sending the first or last child off to college would be more difficult than the "in-between" ones. I figured with the first you are mourning not just the absence of the child from the day to day family life, but you are also grieving the end of the era when all your "chicks" are tucked in bed under the same roof at night. And with the last child you are sad because your nest is now empty. In reality, however, I found it was just as difficult with number two as it was with the first. Since each child brings their own personality to the family dynamics, each absence leaves a hole. So, we miss Nicolas horribly but are grateful he is in a solid Christian community where he is able to continue to use and develop his gifts and study towards something he has dreamed of for years (veterinary medicine).
Because of the uncertainty of an Air Force Academy appointment (basic training would have begun in June), Nicolas did not pursue a summer job until most people had already hired their summer employees. This did allow him to say "yes" to all the various jobs people hired him for this summer. I think he painted, pulled and sprayed weeds, planted trees, trimmed bushes, put together outdoor furniture, dug out dead bushes, mowed, and lots and lots of other odd jobs. He rounded up cows for a hoof trimmer one day. Another day because of the media attention his senior project received (he put together a historic walking app for the city of Meridian) he co-taught 5-6th graders at a BSU technology camp. Between all these jobs, his cross-country trip to Virginia with his friend's family, backpacking in the mountains with friends, RYS convention, and family trips to British Columbia and the Oregon coast most of his days were filled.
Here are a few pictures of his cross-country trip and his backpacking trip with friends.
 |
| Hershey chocolate factory |
 |
| National Mall, Washington D.C. |
 |
| Williamsburg |
Backpacking trip in McCall, ID
 |
| The lake was still mostly frozen the end of June |
No comments:
Post a Comment