Hard to believe that Matt will be graduating from Riverside HS tomorrow. It has been great having just him home these past two years to entertain Dan and me. I know I will miss him at unexpected times when he leaves for Ohio State. He has chosen his friends well (I will miss them, too, so please stop by when you are in town!), worked hard and made time for fun. While he may not know precisely what hell be doing, job wise, for the rest of his life, he will continue to have a myriad of experiences from which he can choose his path. Im not the least bit worried. That competitiveness and work ethic will take him wherEVER he chooses to go! Choosing the path....I would tell Matt to follow your bliss as per Joseph Campbell. That has never failed me, but has gotten me into periods of uncomfortable life when I did not follow! The other thing I would tell him is that its good to make your decisions with your heart and your head in sync--those are likely to be good decisions. Matts heart is a big part of who he is. He NOTICES things that others pass by. He notices PEOPLE and will ask them when he sees them about something that happened to them, not jump to tell them about what has happened to him. He notices feelings and has deep feelings himself. I hope for him that he keeps those feelings front and center and doesnt bury them. I remember when I was pregnant with him. My MIL told me that I had better get ready because Andrew had been such an easy baby and I was due for a challenge kid. Matt loves this story because he was easier and more happy than his brother! (God took pity on this old mama!) When he got diagnosed with a primary immunodeficiency and had to undergo monthly IVIG infusions, he never cried or carried on--and this was from 18-30 months of age! Even now, when he has to deal with some necessary unpleasantness, he just does it and gets it over with! As a child in first grade, he was an artist. He drew all the time. And mom and Mummu kept him well supplied with markers of all sorts. His primary subjects were sports of all kinds and one Cleveland Browns game work, done on lined notebook paper, still stands out in my head: a receiver, laid out and airborne, hauling in a pass, his muscles rippling, the scoreboard in the background and--you know how little kids draw the sun and sky?--well, there was strip of blue sky at the top of the page and a quarter-circle sun in the corner! It was so detailed and he was just 6! By the time he was nine, he would curl up in the corner of the couch and write. Not for a school assignment, but because there was a story in his head and he couldnt NOT write. Out came chapter after chapter of a story he made up of a kid who impersonated the game-winning Super Bowl QB--who rode his bike to the stadium that day for the Super Bowl. It was so much fun to watch him get that out! (It took me literally hours and hours to transcribe that to the computer so he could print it out and give it to his cousin Derek for Christmas that year!) Andrew has no idea what an influence he has been on Matt. Im not sure that Matt chose OSU because Andrew is there, but that may have been a small part of it. But you can be sure that Matt wanted to keep up with Andrew (and James and Josh) when they were all working on their Eagle Scout projects! That pushed him to do more, faster, Im sure. I respect how he has managed to balance his running with his schoolwork and other extracurriculars and do it all so well. That will prepare him well for his future, whatever it will be! Writing and art seem to have fallen by the wayside but I know they are still in there. To my boy: Find something you like, Matt, and do follow your bliss. Your bliss may evolve, but so will you. I dont wish for you a life without challenges, but I do wish for you a life where you are challenged to use your tools. For him who much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:48). What have I always, always, told you? Not everyone has been given the gifts and opportunities that you have. Its part of your deal in life to really use what you have been given simply by the accident of your birth. This kid? I think he gets that. Now, go be fierce, Matt! (Thats me, trying to be up to date on the lingo!) (Oh yeah, call yo Mama. Or txt her. She loves hearing from her boys! A BIG part of my heart is going to be in Columbus this year!)
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 02:50:51 +0000
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