#4: June Other Nephews

I think this update (and what I cooked one night for dinner last week) will catch me up. . .just in time to probably get busy and behind again. Ah well, such is life.

In early June, K and I headed back to his hometown to see his sister's oldest boy (18) graduate from high school. (I'll be referring to these nephews by their ages, because 2 of them have the same first initial as the nephews on my side.) We arrived into town in time to get changed and get over to the football stadium. . .almost an hour before the program was slated to begin. And we weren't even the first people there! Apparently, the whole town turns out for graduations. I guess I'd assumed that it would be like my HS graduation, which was in Austin at Burger Center. Nope, this one was outside in the SE TX heat. Clouds were looming to the East. I asked K what would happen if it rained, and he said "We get wet." Ahhh. (Sure enough, we did get sprinkled on a few times.)

The ceremony started pretty much on time, though my butt was numb from sitting in the stands for so long by about halfway through. We made a lot of noise when 18 crossed the stage; I hope he heard us. I also had a chance to observe another tradition that wasn't around when I graduated--some of the families of grads released handfulls of balloons when their loved one's name was called. Some of the balloons had signs for the grads hanging from them. I don't know if the grads even saw the balloon releases, so I'm not sure what the idea behind these displays was. Maybe this is a common smaller town/outdoor graduation ceremony tradition? K didn't remember it from his graduation (in the same football stadium, many years ago).

Like every graduation, everyone swarmed the grads afterwards. 18 is so polite--he thanked us for being there, and we had a chance to give him his card. We'd seen him the week before when he was in Austin for his girlfriend's softball tournament, and so we knew he still was uncertain about where he'd attend college. He really wants to play baseball, but unfortunately hasn't yet received any scholarships or invitations to join teams in Texas. About a year and a half ago, he injured his pitching arm, and after his surgery & recovery was moved to first base. But this most recent season, he's spent a lot of time on the bench due to some questionable moves by his coach. (for example: the kids--underclassmen--of the coach's buddies are getting all the playing time, even when scouts are in attendance at the games). K's sister has done a lot of driving around TX so 18 can try out for teams, and he's waiting to see what happens. If nothing works out, he'll go to the local university and study to be an accountant. Well, he'll study to be an accountant either way, I think. But, it's a stressful time for him, because he really wants to chase his dream of college baseball. The entire time we were in town, each time we saw him, he was polite and thanked us again for being there. He's such a good kid; I know great things are in store for him.

While we were there, we had a chance to see 18's younger brother (13) play his last little league game of the season. We were only there for the first half of the game, but in that time 13 managed to turn being walked to first base into stealing all the way to home and a run scored. He's an excellent baseball player. It's just a shame his asshat father pressures him to play year-round--even going so far as to drive him to neighboring cities to play on their teams. I wouldn't be at all surprised if 13 gets burned out or injured before college. It's fun to watch him play, though. He's tall for his age, and at the oldest end of the age range for players, he's often the only kid on the field who is as tall as some of the coaches. The first pitcher he faced in the game we watched was exactly half his size. He gets walked a lot; most of the league pitchers who know him refuse to pitch to him. 13 is always hustling, too. Right now he's saving up for an IPod, and his grandmother (MIL) pays him $10 for every home run he hits. He's always looking for ways to earn extra $$, and I'm glad he's working for it and saving rather than just getting his way. . .MIL & FIL are not shy about spoiling their grandsons. In fact, I happened to catch MIL slipping him $50 towards his IPod savings while we were there. I see a career as some sort of salesman in 13's future. He's outgoing, funny, and really has a way of endearing people to him.

The 3rd nephew (14) is K's godson, and son of K's only brother. K, his brother, and 14 decided to have a guitar jam session the night after graduation. Music is one of the few things K & his brother have in common, and I know K would love to see 14 continue his interest and improve his skills. 14 has a ton of natural talent, and participates in the Jazz & Marching Bands at school. Unfortunately, he's also a teenager. He'd rather spend time texting his friends than participate in much of anything else. Even during their jam session, he was texting when he wasn't playing. K got frustrated a few times when he was trying to show the kid something specific or teach him something new.

I know K is trying to be a good male role model for the kid, since the kid's dad isn't stellar in that (or any) department. After our last visit (in April), K & I talked about inviting 14 to spend some time with us in Austin this summer. Since we're headed BACK to SE TX this weekend, I suggested this might be a good time to bring 14 back with us. We'll know by Thursday whether he'll be visiting, and I'm just a tiny bit freaked out about a 14 year old staying with us for a week. Like, aren't 14 year old boys messy? And he'll probably expect evening meals! Every evening! And what do 14 year old kids like to eat and drink? Already K has been telling me about rules he's going to institute for 14. Like, no caffinated sodas. We don't drink soda at home, so he doesn't want to buy something special that he thinks is bad for 14. And no texting. 14 is to leave his cell phone at home, and if he wants to get in touch with his parents, they'll call K. K will be working in the mornings (we assume 14 will want to sleep in) and has been brainstorming ideas of all the things they can do together, including: filling up 14's IPod with "good" music, helping 14 record a song, taking 14 to see a live music show, going to museums, etc. K's very excited. It's cute.