Since Erik has completed middle school, he has had some "lasts ". Even though "lasts" sometimes has a negative connotation, his were all positive.
Two amazing last adventures he experienced at Discovery were his 8th-grade field trip to Washington DC and the 8th-grade band trip to Toronto. He didn't take the photos I would have, but he has some incredible memories and experiences in his mind.
He participated in his last band concert at Discovery, and as usual, Jason and I couldn't see him. Trombones are always in the back. This time, they actually switched sides, and we couldn't even see him when they stood at the end because we were on the wrong side and the angle wasn't right.
Two of Erik's besties.
Mr. Hartge is on the far left and is one of my favorite teachers of all time. He was Austin's band teacher for only one year, and I was so glad when Erik chose band so he could have Mr. Hartge. Mr. Bucek is on the far right and is Mr. Hartge's assistant, who happens to play the trombone, so he loves Erik since he works with him often.
It's always tradition to go to Menchies after a band concert because it is literally two minutes from Discovery.
He participated in his last NJHS meeting. Parents weren't invited, but he worked hard to get his 16 hours of service in this year, even though he doesn't want pictures or recognition for it. He cleaned up yards, made a tie quilt for a hospital, volunteered hours for school events, and collected money at Christmas for the needy.
He participated in his last middle school track meet. At the league meet, he came in 5th for the 1600 and the 800 with times of 5:24 and 2:35. In the 4x4, his team came in 3rd. Erik looked fantastic on his leg of the race with a 1:02. Our high school coach, JG, came out to see Erik and the boy who took first for everything since they're both going to Salem next year. Coach told me that Erik called out to him from the stands to say hi. So cute😊 His pr this season for the 1600 is 5:18 and a 2:23 for the 800. He will definitely be an asset to the Salem team!
Erik's running with Austin cheering him on.
Erik and Austin. It was very hot and sunny that day.
He participated in his last soccer game last Sunday. I thought I would feel more emotional than I did, but I didn't. I think part of it was that Coach Scott had a conversation with Erik after the game, and then with Jason and me, that he understood that Erik wouldn't be playing anymore, but he wanted him to rethink his decision because he has so much potential. He told us Erik would be allowed to make the practices he could and go to as many games as he could, putting XC and track first, except in the winter when he could train for soccer. We felt honored and appreciated, but now conflicted with the thought of paying for soccer and trying to balance that with XC and track. Erik finally told me that he had made his decision and was going to stick with XC and track, but we haven't told Coach Scott yet. Erik's really good at soccer, but he's even better at running. Luckily, they had a win in the last game, 4-2, and the refs didn't leave me hating the game like I have at other games this season.
His last time as a goalie, with this team.
His team!
Coach Scott
Some good clips of this last game.
Finally, he graduated from middle school on Tuesday. I have had 3 kids graduate from Discovery now, and I did get a little teary-eyed, but it was harder for me when he graduated from elementary school than from middle school. Next year, he'll be at the high school with Austin and on the same teams as him, so that's pretty exciting. After his graduation, he had a headache, so he didn't want to take pics with his friends or teachers. We went to the furthest place we could go for a pic of the three of us, the marquee sign, clicked one pic, then left. He went to sleep for 3 hours in his bed when we arrived home. His voice had been scratchy for about a month and a half, since just before he went to DC. All the fun and the yelling at meets and games didn't help. When he woke, he still didn't feel great, but I had made him pancakes and begged him to let me take one picture of him with the 8th-grade graduation sign, when no one else was there. It took all of 4 minutes to drive to Discovery, take the pic, and drive home. The sign is down now, his voice is almost back to normal, and we are pretty much recovered and in summer mode!
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