My grandson is off to college today
Yeah, I know, I have 8 grandsons and I'm not supposed to have favorites, but this one has always been special to me. He was my daughter's firstborn and technically the second in the family, as he came along 3 years behind my son's boy and before she met her husband, who brought along all the steps and provided her second son also. When this one was born, I said to her and to my late ex, "The other one is all about his grandpa, this one is MINE." And so he is.
He's always been athletic and has played organized sports since he was little. AYSO soccer, then Upward basketball, then basketball at school, some pee wee football, and more basketball. We really thought basketball would be it for him, but he was sick and missed tryouts in 6th grade for the next year, so he went out for football instead at the invitation of the coach. He was always big and seemed to have the smarts for it, so he became an offensive lineman, first a tackle and then a center. He continued this path in high school, and although his high school team was not exactly a winning program, he attracted the attention of a number of D-I schools in the area and a few HBCUs too. He even had the option of walking on at Tennessee; however, that program is/was such a mess he wouldn't even consider it. But there was one program that kept after him, a D-II school where he had a friend playing. He made a couple of unofficial visits there and finally an official visit, and that's the one he chose--Wheeling University in WV (formerly Wheeling Jesuit, and still with a strong Jesuit influence, which his mom likes). So he's off to there today with two cars, one driven by mom and one by stepdad, both stuffed to the roof with what he needs.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that he's also been an honor roll student almost every semester since kindergarten and missed being an honors graduate by .2 of a point, and was also considered a natural leader by pretty much everyone at every school he ever attended. He's worked summers at different jobs (but they have to be outdoors; he can't stand being penned up!) and is very responsible. He wants a job, eventually, that will allow him to spend most of his time outdoors, so he's planning to major in environmental science. Where that will lead is anyone's guess, but he says he won't be a park ranger."Not wearing one of those dorky hats!"
It will be hard on his mom. In addition to being the apple of her eye, she's depended on him a lot, especially in recent years. I'm excited to see him grow up and can't wait to see what happens next.
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Keep us up to date on this fine young man’s journey. 