#556 The Adventures of Eighth Grade T: 9/12 - 9/16

T is in eighth grade now and he's really into hanging out with friends after school. I thought he had a fun week, so I asked if I could write about it. He said it was all right, and I know that he enjoys reading about himself :) Of course, I don't know many details of his adventures, but here's my take on it.

On Tuesday, T met up with an old friend of his, Jake. T met Jake back in day-care days; in fact, they both started at the Magna Rec daycare on the same day. I remember that Jake was crying because he was so upset. Maybe it was his first time in a daycare? I don't remember. I do remember talking to his mom about it. She was a bit mortified. T was nervous about starting at the new daycare, but he was an old pro at it by the tender age of six, and since he and Jake were the same age and going into the same class, they started talking and became friends. T and Jake don't go to the same schools, but they met up again through Facebook and have been chatting online while playing XBox, so they decided to meet up. Some of T's friends also know Jake, so there were several kids who got together. From all accounts, a good time was had by all, although T did mention that it was a little awkward at first. It had been seven years since they've seen each other! But he certainly wasn't ready for me to pick him up. I think they'll get together again.

For me, it was also a trip down memory lane, taking 201 all the way to 8400 West to Magna to pick up T who was hanging out with Jake, just like the old days! And I didn't even recognize Jake! He's tall now!

A bunch of T's friends play on the MJHS boy's volleyball team, so Wednesday he stayed after school to watch the match. T has never played volleyball, and I don't know if he has any interest in it other than to watch his friends, but since his friends are involved in activities, I'm hopeful that T will want to be involved in something, also.

On Thursday morning, T informed me that he'd be home later than usual because there was a dance after school and he wanted to attend. He said that the dance was "pretty fun" and that "Eric can do a wicked good shuffle." T said that the favorite songs were "Baby" by Justin Beiber and "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. Modern day classics. That LMFAO song is darn catchy :) T also told me that all the kids just run on the floor and dance around, none of this asking girls stuff. I think that's cool, and more like real life.

T gets out of school around 12:30 on Friday, and he often walks to the home of his friend Ben to hang out on Friday. There are a few other kids who live in Ben's neighborhood, so they all hang out together. I'm not really sure what they do. I know that sometimes they walk over to Arctic Circle (complimentary ice cream cones!) or go to Smith's to snag a cookie sample from the bakery. Last night they watched a movie at a friend's house.

Social little man, isn't he? And to think that MT and I were worried that he might be anti-social since all he wanted to do last year was play video games and talk to people on the XBox. But that was Seventh Grade T. We like Eighth Grade T. (I think I'll shorten that to 8GT. Eighth is hard to spell. Those H's throw me off.) I just hope that his grades will be as robust as his social life and that his teacher's will tell me that he's a good student citizen when I meet them next week at parent-teacher conferences.