Alex's Turn

This is the way I can get photos of Alex--when he doesn't know I'm taking them. We had just gotten home from school and he plopped himself on the arm of the living room sofa and was texting friends while listening to music. That's pretty much what he does all the time--texts and listens to music.

My mom is always afraid that Patrick and I don't spend any time with Alex. Eric is the youngest and Natalie's swim activities and now physical therapy take a lot of our time. In reality, Alex takes most of our time. He is way more social than his siblings. He always wants to go out and see his friends. Soccer practices also started after Thanksgiving at school every weekday morning. Last week, lacrosse practices started after school. We haven't figured out that schedule quite yet. Since last month, he has also been staying after school for two hours at least three days a week so he can be around his girlfriend who is moving some time soon.

Weekends are especially when he needs us to shuttle him back and forth. For example, just last Friday, Patrick picked him up right after school. I was at physical therapy with Natalie, so Eric was along for the ride while Patrick took Alex to get something to eat and then dropped him off at the local stadium so he could watch his girlfriend play soccer. He also needed to be picked up, of course.

On Saturday, I took Alex to school at 9:30am so he could travel with his soccer team to play soccer. The game wasn't until noon, but Patrick went to the stadium to watch him play. He got to play the whole game and it was a nice day, so Patrick didn't mind. He brought Alex home after the game, then Alex's friend Dylan came over and Patrick took both of them back out to go to some cheer competition. Meanwhile, the rest of us went to church and then dinner. While we were out, Alex asked if his friend Jeremy could sleep over. As it turned out, Jeremy wasn't able to come over, but that is the sort of last minute plans we have to deal with. If we don't have other plans, we try to get Alex to whatever event he wants to go to, and it usually involves Patrick driving around at night.

On Sunday, Alex didn't get up until noon. We took him to his 1:30-5pm Lacrosse practice. In the meantime, we picked up Rudy's BBQ and took it to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a late lunch since they live close to where Alex had practice, and we picked him up before heading home. So, except for Natalie taking the SAT on Saturday, our weekend was pretty centered on Alex.

This is another picture I took of Alex while he wasn't aware that I was taking a picture of him. He was helping Patrick take down the Christmas tree a couple of weeks ago. The top half of the tree now has nonfunctioning lights, so we threw it away with the heavy trash pickup. We also got rid of our rapidly deteriorating big screen TV and an extra tube TV that not even Goodwill or the Salvation Army will accept as a donation. Alex can be pretty helpful around the house when he wants to be.

This is a good time to brag a little about Alex, too. Last month or so, we found out that he is number 19 in his class. We were happy with that news. He was unhappy mostly because there were a couple of people ranked higher than him that he helped with homework, so he figured that he should be ranked higher than they were. That may change once he starts taking AP classes next year.

Last week or so, Alex found out that he made a 196 on the PSAT. He is still a sophomore, but apparently that score puts him in the 95th percentile for juniors. My nephew Nick also did well with an 206. I'm happy that both of them are within range for possibly scoring high enough to be a National Merit Scholar, like Anthony was. That opens the door to scholarships and such plus it's pretty cool.

Alex also helps us with Eric and Natalie. When Natalie gets all wound up about school work, he will just tell her to chill or helps her with it. When Eric won't do as we ask (like finish his dinner), he'll present it to Eric in a different way, and Eric will often comply. Alex is my only child that likes to go shopping with me. That is pretty cool, too. He saw my work jacket that I wear in the cold operating rooms. He wanted one just like it, so I joked that he gave it his "fashion stamp of approval" so it must be a nice jacket. Patrick chats with him about sports (the other kids don't have a clue) or about video games.

If it isn't clear yet, I love my dear number two son. He is certainly not an angel and he has challenged us in ways that the other kids haven't challenged us, but he is a wonderful kid and Patrick and I love him a whole lot. Here's hoping that he will stay the course.