Today you are 14. You've got a whole year of teenaging under your belt. And what a year it's been. At this time last year, we thought we were nearing the end of a full year of life lived in a pandemic. The vaccine was out, cases were down, and hope was on the horizon. Some sense of normalcy returned. You were finally back at school in person....your first year of junior high. Sports and other extracurriculars were back. You could start to spend more time with a larger circle of friends. There was a sense of relief and a feeling that our new normal was here to stay. Unfortunately, we definitely weren't as far along as we thought, and we've had a couple more waves of Covid to get through. Despite the ups and downs, you've displayed such maturity throughout it all. It wasn't always easy to hear "no" more than "yes", or to have to go back to keeping our circle small, or to revert back to living as selflessly as possible in order to protect others, but you did it. All the while, you've gained more than you lost out on and we are so proud of you for seeing it that way.
You truly are becoming such a mature and well-rounded young man. You've started to shift into that teenage mentality where you want to be around your peers far more than you want to be around your family. Thankfully (for us....and for you) you've got a great group of friends surrounding you. We certainly hope that as you wrap up your crazy junior high years and head into high school, you'll continue to have the wisdom to choose your friends wisely. We also hope that your influence on your friends is equally as positive and meaningful as their influence is on you. We know that you'll continue to find common interests with so many different people, because you are a kid who wears so many different hats.
You are an insanely devoted sports lover. You love to play sports. You love to watch sports. You love to research sports. You love anything about sports. This year, you added volleyball to your list of favorite sports. It was so neat to see you try something new and love it! You also played one final season of flag football in the fall....next year you're going to give tackle football a try at the high school (and we are all just a bit nervous about that). You tried out for the 8th grade basketball team, and despite being pretty bummed about not making it, you picked yourself up off the floor and made lemonade out of lemons. You asked the coach if you could help by being a manager. This brave and humble ask was a great decision on your part because you loved everything about that role. You got to practice with the team and hone in on your skills. You got to serve as the biggest and loudest fan on the court while taking stats (a perfect job for the math lover in you). And you got to spend so much time with some of your closest friends. We were so proud of you for stepping up and taking on this role, and it was awesome to see how much joy it brought to you. When you're not playing sports, you're usually watching them. Sometimes it's just quick clips and videos, and sometimes its a whole game. No matter what it is, we can be sure you'll be cheering and screaming and watching as if the lives of every player depend upon that game's outcome. You were super thrilled to get to experience your first live NFL game this past November. However, that excitement was matched with complete disappointment when you discovered that your favorite player, Lamar Jackson, was sick and wouldn't be playing. Thankfully, you had an amazing experience despite the fact that he wasn't playing....it might have helped that your team pulled off a victory on the opposing team's turf!
When you're not hanging with friends or fixating on sports, you're busy with all sorts of other things. You still love video games, but now you often use those as a way to connect with others. Quite frequently, we think you're in the basement playing on the XBox and talking to yourself...only to realize that you're playing simultaneously with a friend and talking via FaceTime. You've continued to stay committed to band and are loving that. You've made some great friends through band and are becoming quite the percussionist. You also joined Mathletes this year (making your former Mathlete parents quite proud) and are involved in NJHS as well. You're still involved in 4H and took on the Vice President role for a second year. This year, you're planning to do a project about veterinary science....something you've started to think about more as a future career. Youth group and helping at church has also become a big part of your week. You've helped quite a bit with a tech crew for the youth ministry and you've learned that serving in the elementary room on Sunday mornings is actually pretty fun. You look forward to Sunday nights and are learning so much through your discussions with your small group. You're starting to ask big questions and it's neat to see you wanting to own your faith. You chose to get baptized this past fall and it was a joy to watch you do that with so many friends there cheering you on.
It's such a blessing to see how the various chapters of your life open and close. Raising you has had its challenges...you are still SO strong willed and are driven by the need for justice and fairness...but the gift of seeing beyond those hard times and focusing on all of the good moments is what parenting is all about! You absolutely bring so much goodness into our lives. We are forever grateful for that day when God made us parents and placed you into our loving care. We hope that we can continue to guide you into an even more amazing human than you already are. We are so proud of who you are becoming and cannot wait to see how this next chapter of your story plays out.
Love,
Dad and Mom
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