After a bit of soul-searching and revelation, I’ve decided I want to start a new tradition where I pick a photo from the past year that is the most meaningful for me and give the dear readers an insight as to why it’s the one that reigns supreme.
In Nicholas’ case, it wasn’t hard to choose this one.
Certainly I’ve gotten plenty of photos from his hockey exploits for various teams in the Mythical Creatures Hockey League (MCHL). 14,825 of them according to Lightroom, in fact!
But what makes this one stand out to me above the others is that hint of side-eye about to lead to an epic eye-roll.
You’d think he’d know better. He invited me to this game and I invited the Nikon and well, there you are. If you’re on the opposite of the lens from the viewfinder, you’re fair game.
But what really sells this one is that it’s clear he’s about to give me a bit of stick for bothering to take this photo.
I knew *EXACTLY* what word was on his mind as well as the two runner-ups and I wasn’t disappointed.
Speaking of which, it’s been quite the tumultuous year for Nicholas and not least of the terrifying events was him turning 21.
I can’t tell you how much that day gave me a case of the screaming willies!
It’s never going to be easy for a parent when their kid becomes legally able to possess and consume alcohol, especially when that kid is a playing *BEER LEAGUE HOCKEY*. And lots of it!
With the zero-tolerance policies for underage drinking in North Carolina, it’s almost inevitable that when the kids turn 21, they’re going to cut loose like it’s some version of an alcoholic Rumspringa and go completely nuts with their newly found freedom.
His first trip to the ABC store on his birthday certainly had plenty of bottles come home with him and really made me wonder if this was such a good idea.
But in the months since, he’s kept a good head on his shoulders and been very responsible about it. I really ought to send a thank you note to the guy who worked in the same garage at Toyota who got done by the coppers for drink driving and lost his privilege to move customer cars to his repair bay.
I think the thought of how humiliating it’d be for a mechanic to not be able to roll their own cars to mend has been more than enough to keep Nicholas on the responsible side of the line.
It’s almost shocking how much growing up he’s done in the past few years since he was awarded his diploma from Enloe High School and then did his time at Wake Tech taking classes and working at the garage.
To be sure, there are things that frustrate the heck out of him but from what I can tell, he’s managed to handle them far better than I’d dreamed possible.
He’s got a good job that pays him decently (OK, not as much as he’d *LIKE* and it was shocking finding out that mechanics are also excepted from being paid overtime by the Fair Labour Standards Act as programmers are!) and he still gets to play hockey and have some fun.
At the end of the day, as long as he’s happy and safe, I’m going to be a right happy camper!
