Nathan is fourteen! Happy birthday to my tiny infant baby boy who is now funny and empathetic teenager, outgoing and smart* (*sometimes a knowitall, very normal fourteen) and athletic and hard working and friendly, with SO MUCH PHYSICAL ENERGY, I mean... mostly he is just... SO GROWN.
Right now Nathan's favorite things in life are football (and sports in general), singing, chinese food (and all food), being outside, iced coffee, youth group, dystopic YA books, fanfiction podcasts, and getting his back scratched. He broke his arm two weeks ago which put a major damper on the high school football he's been counting towards for literal years, but he's still going to make a go of it and do the best he can with cardio workouts until he's cleared for more.
HIGH SCHOOL YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT.
Life comes at you fast. (Weep.)
He has pulled through another pandemic year with (mostly) (?) good cheer, remote schooling through the fall and winter (including two beach rental weeks, a road trip to DC for outdoor sightseeing and immigration appointments with Grandma, and a seasonal rental up north for a white Christmas while we had some home renovations done here in Raleigh), and he was able to go back to school this spring all "vaxxed and relaxed" to finish up his eighth grade year at his beloved middle school. (Who knew a middle school could even BE beloved, but here we are.) He missed his friends and his normal life but he is ready to take a deep breath and face what's next, with a normal social life and sports life and classroom life.
Some favorite moments from this absolutely weirdest of weird years in the life of a pandemic teen, making the best of it all:
(If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch it on YouTube.)