Today I took Gigs to the high school where
HE WILL BE GOING TO SCHOOL NEXT YEAR!
You heard me right; I said HIGH SCHOOL!
What? Where has the time gone?
I can't believe it.
Anyway, Gigs completed DRIVER ED!
You heard me right; I said DRIVERS ED! What?
Again, time! What are you doing to me?!
Anyway, he needed to go to the school to get his eyes checked.
Lottie and I sat in the car listening to Taylor Swift while he
inched his way to the front of the line.
Together we have successfully (mostly) finished his 8th-grade year using
There were days when I wanted to die, but most days were enjoyable
and I really like studying and learning right along with him.
Our end-of-the-year botany experiment project is currently
sitting on my laundry room windowsill with
four sunflower plants planted in styrofoam cups.
He's watering each plant exactly the same but with different types of water
like water/milk, water/sugar, water/salt.
It's been fun to watch him get excited over his discoveries.
We love going to the nursery together to look at and identify plants,
and almost subconsciously, I keep every little container and jar for him
to store his trinkets and stuff in, even though I know it just adds
to the creative mess in his room.
I found myself picking up 30 small crickets at the pet store
to feed his Arizona scorpions and hissing cockroaches.
But if I try and get him to read a book or work on his math facts, he turns
into 4-year-old Gigs and puts up a fight.
He's reading the second Harry Potter book long-distance with Jane in Arizona.
They finished the first book last month.
While they were reading and I overheard Jane stop suddenly and say:
"Gigs! Are you listening to me?"
"Yes, I am JANE!"
"You don't look like it; you're not even looking at the book.
What did I just read?"
"Jane, I'm listening; sometimes, I look out the window
when it's your turn, but I'm still reading."
"Gigs, is the TV on?"
"No.............maybe, but I'm not watching it."
"GIGS! Turn off the TV! You weren't even following along
the whole time I was reading, were you?
"Yes, I was!"
Then Jane rattled off several questions to Gigs to test him and see
if, in fact, he really was following along.
I was shocked when Gigs not only got all the questions spot-on,
but he also summarized the whole page she had read.
"See Jane! I was listening."
"Well, Ok...good. But just follow along! We're on page..."
"67" he innterupted. See Jane, I know!"
I've had the same conversations during school with him
a million times this past year.
And I'd always say to him,
"I'm going to be testing you on this,
so I hope you are listening."
And turns out he always was because he'd always score really well.
It's just Gigs.
A few days ago, on the way to pick up Lottie from school, I drove
past a newly deceased giant snapping turtle near our home.
I immediately called Gigs and told him. He was on his bike headed that way
as soon as we hung up, Then he messaged me to tell me what kind of a
turtle it was, and how he thought he died.
(Hit by a car, for obvious reasons).
I'm going to miss having Gigs home next year.
But it's time for him to share his wisdom, wit, and charms as a freshman
with his new teachers and with all girls, of course.
(To me, this is how Gigs will always be)
