Project 19 to 19: Day 16

Staying Active

About the time the Boy started high school, his opportunities to stay active started to dry up. He was only required to have 1 year of PE in school, he aged out of the local rec sports soccer league, and he was never very keen to join us in the garage for a workout.

One summer, however, we talked him in to coming to an Olympic lifting class with us and we soon discovered he had a real knack for it!


These days, his fitness options have all but evaporated. I know he had hoped to join some intramural club once on campus, but of course, that is just one more thing that is not currently on the table.


Playing VR games is NOT a fitness activity, but at least he has a fun way to unwind regardless of the weather!

Project 19 to 19: Day 15

I Love You More

Almost as soon as the Boy learned to say "I love you" he jumped into the game of "No, I love YOU!" vs "No, *I* love you MORE!

It's definitely one of my all time favorite games and even if I lose, I win!

This snap was taken in 2015, on Valentine's Day. Wonder Boy and his dad surprised me with this plaque and another similar one. I'll admit I was a bit overwhelmed and my reaction (bursting into tears) definitely surprised him.


I can't tell you how happy it makes me that this little game lives on today! Every night at tuck in, everytime someone leaves the house, and these days, often when the Boy notices one of us is having a rough day, he will launch another round and remind us that we have a live-in cheering section.

Project 19 to 19: Day 14

Easier Than Breathing

From the earliest of days, Wonder Boy has been comfortable with numbers. Long before he could write full sentences, he could add, subtract, anddeal with fractions. He has always taken to math like a duck to water, or as I explained to the review board for the gifted and talented program at his middle school, math comes to him like breathing to you or I.


The Boy's prowess with numbers truly became obvious as he entered middle school. He tested out of 7th grade math and jumped ahead a year, finishing his first year of high school Algebra by the end of 8th grade. He spent a summer at Mathematical Problem Solving camp. And again, in high school tested out of pre-Calculus so he could get two years of calculus under his belt before leaving high school

His academic success in the mathematical arena has been fun to watch, but honestly, it is the countless hours of independent study he has put in over the years that always boggles my mind.


His favorite summer activity was watching math videos on YouTube and working his way through his favorite proofs and theorems. He filled his whiteboards with his favorite proofs and problems. And he couldn't wait to explain the things he learned to those he loved the most.

These days, his whole world is about independent learning. The years he spent researching subjects he enjoyed and pushing himself to understand all that he could, is paying major dividends these days. His transition to virtual learning has been much easier than many of his classmates because of this.

Even now that he is in college and already in his second semester of calculus, he happily works through this more advanced text book he requested as a gift last Christmas. He has set himself up for success all while enjoying one of hif absolute favorite topics. That sounds like a formula for a lifetime of happiness to me!

Project 19 to 19: Day 13

Bubba's Boy

I have featured photos of these two every year for a reason - theirs is a very special bond and it makes me happy to share it!


Wonder Boy begins and ends each and every day with Wonder Mutt. They romp and play throughout the day. And it doesn't seem to matter how deeply asleep the Mutt may be, when the Boy comes downstairs between classes during the day, the Mutt is always ready for some serious attention from his favorite human ever.


The Mutt and the Puppy Princess have both seen a number of benefits of pandemic living, but by far the highlight for both of them, is having the Boy home all day, every day!

Project 19 to 19: Day 12

A Natural Reaction

One of the greatest joys for me in being a parent has been sharing a love of exploration with the Boy. He, like most kids, was always curious about how the world works and he loved hands on learning to dive home a lesson.

Unlike me, Wonder Boy always had a penchant for physical sciences. In contrast, I was always drawn to the biological sciences but those never sparked the Boy's imagination like physics and chemistry.

To foster that love of learning and investigation, we often did little experiments in the kitchen. We grew crystals (sugary, grape-flavored ones you could eat!). We mixed baking soda and acids to watch them foam and bubble, once we even used the gasses released to inflate a baloon. We made lava lamps and water gloves. We even made milk planets and soap monsters along with a dozen other things to fill a rainy day or to serve as a fun project during summer vacation or spring break.

But one of my favorite experiments is featured here:


For as far back as I can recall, Wonder Boy always had a school holiday for Good Friday. So we generally set aside that day to prepare our Easter creations. For this particular year, we made egg geodes to go along with our regular dyed eggs. The coolest part of this experiment is that the Boy STILL has the results of this experiment. It was fun for us all and gave us a keepsake that has lasted for many, many years!


Wonder Boy kept his love of all things physics and chemistry as he made his way through high school and beyond (really, both of them are just applied math, so it's a double love for the Boy). But being stuck in a virtual classroom, there isn't much hands on experimentation going on. These days, he watches labs performed over video, records the data, and writes up his chemistry labs from there. I truly hope that he will get a bit of hands on experience when he starts his physics lab next spring!

Project 19 to 19: Day 11

Genetic Predisposition
From an incredibly early age, Wonder Boy has been drawn to situations in which he has the opportunity to teach others. When he was very small, he would teach one of us the things he learned at day care or that he taught himself. As he got older and we started to enjoy performing science experiments together, he would consent to me recording him so that he could send a recroded lesson to his grandparents or cousins.


In this series of photos, the Boy was giving a lesson on how to mix the perfect glass of chocolate milk. This was a lesson with a lot of staying power - we still follow his method today!


Wonder Boy comes from a long line of teachers. His Great Great Grandmother was a teacher in a one-room school house. Her only daughter, the Boy's Great Grandmother, followed in her footsteps to the school house door and taught for over 40 years. Again, her only daughter, Wonder Boy's Great Aunt, made her career teaching and passed on the teacher gene to one of her daughters and one of her granddaughters as well. That's quite a lineage of teaching, don't you think?!

Wonder Boy spent his high school years heavily involved in the Computer Science team. He loved the challenge and problem solving aspect, but another big draw to being part of the team was his mentoring role for younger or less experienced teammates.

We were not sure if he would be able to find any kind of mentoring opportunities in this day of the virtual classroom, but I am so pleased to say that, well, life finds a way! The Boy has a friend from high school in his programming class and she is a novice programmer. So the Boy has dedicated a bit of his time each week to going over the assignments with her and making sure she has all the skills needed to succeed in this class! He also stays on the Zoom session after he has completed the assignments to act as a virtual help desk for anyone else who might need a hand.

The Boy claims that he wants to program for a living some day after graduation, but I hope that, no matter what path he decides to follow, I hope that he can continue to find opportunities to teach. It is in his blood and seeing the natural high he rides after a tutoring session is reason enough for me to hope he sticks with it in some form or fashion!

Project 19 to 19: Day 10

the Guys

This photo from 2010 is one of my all time favorites. I have it in the rotation of photos in my digital photo frame on my desk at work and every time it pops up, I stop and smile for a minute, no matter how hectic my day may be.


I have always loved seeing them together, but there is something simple and honest about this photo for me. This shot was snagged while the guys were both in the middle of a martial arts class. Wonder Boy had started muay thai lessons and Dad was doing a cardio kick boxing class at the same location. Here they had a break in the action at the same time and took a minute to chat and crack a joke. And their simple interaction warms my heart to its deepest core.

For today, I couldn't find a time when they were both free and willing to step in front of the camera at the same time, but I did see this awesome shoe rack/bench Wonder Dad just finished making for the boy.


This bench is another simple and honest expression of their relationship. Wonder Dad knows his boy well. And there is no greater articulation of his dedication to his boy than a project like this bench. I have caught both of them stopping to take in the bench when they enter his room. Wonder Dad is proud of his finished project and the Boy is glad to have this special addition to his room. I love that this is one more thing that they get to share together.