A little of this…..A little of that…..

Since the graduation pictures we took were not necessarily picture frame worthy, I plunked down the $$$ to get the “official” photos done by the hired help.  These will make nice little gifts for the family at Christmas.

Sad that my Dad will never get to see this but Nick looks very much like his Grandpa Joe right down to his curly locks…and while Nick’s eye’s look like the blue of my Dad’s, they are green like his Dad’s.

While I do miss the Nickster, he’s only 1.1 miles away living on Campus at UH.  He comes home occasionally and the first thing he does is head for the refrigerator.  Its not like he doesn’t get meals on campus….I think its just a habit that all kids get into…walk in house, drop shoes, etc by front door…making sure they are totally in the way of someone walking by….then head for the fridge to see what interesting and tasty items are there.  Unfortunately, there is even less there than when he lived here.

Another observation…the house stays neater….and I did have to bribe him to come home to clean his room…it looked like a tornado passed through when he took off for school.

I know he is enjoying himself at school, especially the part where he doesn’t have to account for his whereabouts…except for that one morning we had to go pick him up at the emergency room due to a slight indiscretion on his part…never to be experienced again….at least not while he’s at school….right????

While I was posting about Nick’s graduation, it occurred to me that while looking at some old photos I found from Nick’s birth, Nick was excited to see the Volvo he is now driving in much more pristine shape. In looking through the photo archive I also came across a photo of Nick sitting on the hood when he is about 9. A present you those photos:

Coming home from the hospital…I wasn’t exactly in my best shape….but that Volvo sure is!

And my little bundle of joy…..

A few years later…..Oh…around 2002

And now…

Nick has passed a major milestone in his life….he is now a high school graduate. The day was perfect…temperature in the mid 70′s with a slight breeze. The ceremony was held outside at the high school on the small hill on the east side. It was well orchestrated and ran like clockwork.
Here is Nick receiving his diploma cover…LOL…they had to get their diplomas after the ceremony.

The proud graduate:

The proud parents:

and grandparents

Three generations of Kwas men….

They held a graduation party at the school from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and then the kids went to breakfast…Nick rolled in about the time I was getting up for work at 5:45.

It is with mixed feelings that I face the upcoming graduation from high school for Nick.  On the one hand, I can’t wait to have him out of the house so I don’t have to pick up after him any more or fight with him when he’s in a crabby mood.  I think the food bill will go down for a while…at least while he’s eating at college.

I don’t think the flowing out of the wallet of cash will stop anytime soon.  Sometimes I feel like I should have a button on my chest that should say, push here to extract cash.

I love Nick…he is the most precious thing I have….but he can certainly be a challenge at times.  He’s extremely intelligent, speaks his mind and has a double whammy of stubbornness from both parents.

On the other hand, I will certainly miss him…when he’s happy, cheerful and loving he just makes my heart swell.  He is extremely talented as anybody who knows him can see but with the intelligence and talent comes temperament.

Nick has certainly blossomed in high school. Elementary and middle school years found Nick mostly at home, on his computer or reading or building with Legos.  He didn’t have a big social life.  I think that has something to do with being an only child…always being with adults.

In high school, he has been involved in many school activities, orchestra, Solisti, Acafella, the newspaper, plays and many more activities I’m sure he hasn’t told me about.

There was a celebration at the final Solisti concert of the year.  All the graduating seniors were honored with a cake.

I have many fond memories and pictures from the trip to Austria I took with these kids.

I wish Nick and all the seniors a smooth transition to their new endeavors.  Its a big step.  They should also know that we’re still there to help them if they need it.  But as every parent knows, teenagers know everything….20 somethings finally realize thet maybe their parents weren’t so dumb after all.

Best of luck my best boy on this new phase of your life.  I know you will do well in whatever you do.