Memorial Day weekend seems like a terrible time to have a graduation… But it feels ok when you have Monday to recover from 2 days of driving, sitting and eating… This day feels like a reprieve.
We had an amazing time in Kenosha with family and got to have a little taste of the town that Aiden now calls home. 2 days here (something we have not done, even though he has been here 4 years) helped us see all the reasons why coming back home seem like a second choice. I told Aiden that my 18 year old self would probably have begged for any job at the Marina and spent the next 40 years cleaning boats. And I am not sure that would have been a bad thing.
Fortunately, he is a bit more ambitious. While going full time to school, Aiden has been working for the City of Kenosha as an intern, specializing in Elections. He also works part time at a retail store downtown selling vintage clothes. I am not sure how he has time for anything, but I see photos online of his adventures all around the region. He seems to have taken “road trip” to the next level with his friends. Wonder where he gets that from?
I need a few more minutes to put together some thoughts about his accomplishment… So I am not getting too deep here today.
Aiden was literally dropped off like a baby on the doorstep of a firehouse when we signed him up for Carthage. The medical emergency of his sister on Memorial Day weekend 2022 had us redirect all of our resources to her and we nearly abandoned him for a year, or two. A weaker man could have sputtered and succumbed to any number of excuses or re-directs. I know that his instructors and the curriculum at Carthage sucked him in those first years. He was coming home talking about marketing, historical texts and had a new appreciation for world culture. It was probably perfect timing for us to go to Rome with him in 2023.
Looking back, a lot fell into place.
The school is smart, do all the fun classes the first couple years… Then grind those last two. I saw a lot more stress from Stig over these last two years while doing more core classes and foreign language.
It was a pretty great moment to see him cross that platform and take the diploma. We were very proud that he did this. Pretty much by himself. If you would have told me this 20 years ago… Or 15… I would have been shocked. Then again, wouldn’t all our past selves be amazed by what we would have to surmount if given the information? I like to think sometimes we have had it worse, but I have met enough people over my journey, that I know that’s not the case.
Registration Day 2022He was thrown to the wolves of Carthage… And came out an independent man, better prepared to take on larger challenges.
I brought it up in a toast over the weekend… I always told the kids “Never Peak”. Meaning, keep building and pushing. Probably some inner discontent that I carry around from being born in a small town with a fear of being “stuck”. We do sacrifice our dreams at some point to make sure we have a stable “launch platform” for our next generation (see boat bum Eric up above)… Though, there is an argument that an unstable platform might make them stronger??? (Maybe I could have been a boat bum and raised a good kid?) Back to task… Sorry. When Aiden hit milestones like Prom Court (X2) or Homecoming King… Summer shouted “He’s peaking!!!”. I know part of this was sibling rivalry, but the other part was to beat into all of us how much more there is to be done. Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard. There is still plenty to do. Never peak.
Here are some albums of photos I put together. They are on google… Sorry if that’s not your flavor… But its where I have storage!
The first one is a bunch of accomplishment (ish) photos over the years. A few are some I picked out from the Google Photos pile that I liked.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fxahy7nD8WwuWQ746
Second, we have photos from this weekend. A bunch of Mackinaw friends came up and celebrated and we saw a lot of familiar faces from his Carthage years. The 360 video of the guy behind me yelling for Aiden is a story in itself. When the stranger looks at his wife apologetically after hooting for our kid in the video… I have to laugh. Thanks unknown dude with another Aiden at graduation!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9fRFLjh9BbyXCFx69
I made a comment to Dad as we left Kenosha… He said “You did good”… I retorted “It took a village” (I use that line flippantly because I really have no love for the quote source) but I did mean it as a compliment to Dad and everyone else who helped us get to this point. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in this. And, not to devalue the man… Great job Aiden in continuing to push and find new peaks.
Great post. And while Aiden did indeed pull himself up by the boot straps to accomplish what he wanted and needed, you and Angela should never sell yourselves short about raising a great kid to be a good man. We all want better for our kids than what we had, and the 3 of you as a family dealt with a very engulfing situation with Summer. So hard to push forward while living the past…but you did…all 3 of you…bask in the light of the future and know that as a family…YOU DID IT!