I’m Old

Kim’s little brother Nickster, as we call him, just entered his first year of high school this September, which is really great and probably a lot of fun and learning and everything else all at once for him.  I however find myself aging every time I realize how long it has been since I was a high schooler roaming the halls of Woodrow Wilson High in Long Beach, CA.  It doesn’t seem like very long ago that I was scaling the towering B building gates to run away from second period English like a man released from prison after hearing that the waves were PERFECT at Seal that morning.  I could have sworn it was no longer than 2 or 3 years ago that I got my license and my first car that my friends and I named Gunther for its charm and reluctance of speed.  I can still feel the chills going down my neck from my big crush on Kelly Noonan, and the nerves that built and built every time the big dances came around.

The Nickster had his first Winter Formal this weekend, so Kim and I went to cheer him on and watch all the kids prepare for their first dance.  All the Mom’s rush around fixing garments and lapels while the Dad’s proudly snap pictures and talk shop with the other Dad’s all the while eyeballing the Boy’s that will be escorting their Daughters for the evening.  It’s pretty amazing watching it all go down just like it did for me when I was 15.  The cycle of life is pretty interesting isn’t it?  I never would have imagined 16 years after I made my way through the goofy age of 15 that I’d be standing watching Nick do it all the same without a care in the world and just the future ahead of him.  It makes me wonder if I’ll be doing the same thing when he’s 31 starting his own family and beginning a new journey and chapter in his life.

This post is dedicated to Nick and to youth.  Enjoy it!!

Me n Gunther on our way to prom