Although we don’t know for sure what next year holds for Sam, we do know that we are very grateful that Sam is attending JPII this year.  The kids had their last day of class in school on Friday, March 13th and they also had their last school sporting event, a home Lacrosse game that same night.  The following Monday was a built-in teacher’s day and that was when we got the notification that the school would be closed for at least 2 weeks (it’s now indefinitely), but online classes would begin on Wednesday, March 18th.  The first day was really just a test run as everyone was getting used to the online setup, but the next day school began in earnest.  Lis even heard one of Sam’s teachers tell the class that if she couldn’t see you then you would be counted absent… no messing around here.  So Sam really only missed one day of classes and they will still have Spring Break as planned (the week of Easter) and also plan on finishing the school year on schedule.  The school announced this week that they are able to go to a 4 day work week as they are not wasting the time in between classes and trying to get the students to start class.  The 5th day of the week, the teachers will be available online for questions and tutoring as needed.  It has definitely been a blessing to know Sam is still getting a good education… can you imagine if Mom and Dad would have had to home school him? 😁 😁  We are still trying to figure out his Saturday welding class at Pitt Community College – apparently they are still continuing class online with the very large textbook and videos, but he just won’t have the on-hand training.  With a little help from Alex, we hope to sign in tonight to see how the system works and check to see if there is any homework assigned.

 

Nothing better than nature to help us relax during a pandemic…

JPII had their first ever Lacrosse scrimmage tonight against one of the area high schools and Sam was goalie!  In his first outing, he played very well and even had 2-3 pretty good saves in the box.

Below is Sam getting some extra practice with the coaches before the 2nd half begins.

It’s official! Sam was inducted into the John Paul II chapter of the National Honor Society this morning.

 

So back in December, Sam’s friend, Jackson, somehow convinced Sam to come act in a small community theatre play with him in downtown Greenville.  Sam, who had never really been in a play before, but always one to try anything of course said Yes.  Since then, Sam has been going to practice for at least 2-3 times each week (6pm -9pm) and he was given not one, but several characters to play.  The play is called Puffs and it takes place the same time Harry Potter is at Hogwarts School of Wizardry.  Of course, we do get to see some of Harry and his friends, but this play was told from the perspective of the Hufflepuffs House instead of focusing on Harry, Ron and Hermione. Sam’s friend, Jackson, who has been in several plays, gets more of a lead role playing both Cedric Digory (the boy who dies) and the Dark Lord himself.  Most of the other actors in the play are in college, with a couple even a little older.  The play has a short run of only 4 performances, Thursday through Sunday and we, along with Nana, Gung Gung and even Alex (he was forced to go) got a chance to see him on Friday night, Valentine’s Day.  Sam did a wonderful job in his actorial debut and even got a few moments on stage by himself being the Headmaster (waiting for Harry in heaven, but running into Wayne, the lead character).  Sam also played a foul mouthed jock who didn’t think anyone from Hufflepuffs was good enough to be on his team and this character got quite a few laughs from the crowd.

Once again, we are very proud of Sam for putting himself out there and trying new things.  Sam’s next new adventure will be Lacrosse – practice has already started.  In fact, todays agenda for Sam is Welding class in the morning (8a-12p), then straight to Lacrosse practice at school (12p-2p).  After that he comes home for a spaghetti ‘Linner’ with us (2:30p) and then has to be off to the Saturday performance of Puffs tonight (7p-9p), followed by a small after party for the cast.  Sam’s last performance will be on Sunday at 2pm.  We doubt Sam will be in another play because he had no idea it was that involved, but in the end he did have a lot of fun and we think enjoyed the spotlight although he will probably never admit it. 😉

So the first image we posted a few days ago, was actually Alex’s certificate not his degree.  We received his actual degree today – not sure why he needed both, but there is definitely a big difference between the two.  Alex, also went back in to meet with his counselor on Monday and then sent her his updated resume.  She is going to pass it around to see if she can find anything for him in Washington, NC.  The other certificate/degree that he is really interested in pursuing has a waiting list and he would not have been able to get in at this late stage.  He may try to get in for the Fall semester, but seemed a little unsure so we will see in a couple of months.

In other news Sam received his Voter Registration card and promptly filled it out and put in back in the mail.  Yes, Sam will be 18 in June. 😪

 

Finally, Dad had the day off today and spent most of the afternoon watching a parade on TV???  Go Chieeeeefs!

Alex finally received his certificate from Pitt this week and we are all very proud of him. We will probably go ahead and get it framed for his room at some point.  Unfortunately, Alex didn’t get a call back from the hospital on the job he applied for, but he is going in to see his counselor this week about taking a couple of more classes to get an additional certificate in the field he really like during his internship.  Hopefully, he will also go in and set up a couple of days to volunteer for the hospital as well… it seems that this is considered work experience and goes a long ways to getting an interview.  We are very proud of him for completing this degree and who knows, maybe there may still be another degree in his future. 😉

Normally this time of the year we would be sitting by the fire in the den and watching TV… probably a Jayhawks basketball game.  Well the Hawks did play today, but lost earlier in the day (a terrible loss at home).  On the bright side though, it was 74° outside today and instead of sitting by the fire we were sitting on the deck enjoying some chicken and burgers on the grill.   No climate change deniers here… 😄😄