It's hard to believe that Keaton is now 17 years old. Holy cow, where did the time go? It seems like it was only yesterday when we were making his meals, doing his laundry, cheering him on in basketball, helping him with homework, and tucking him in at night. Oh, wait a minute...that was only yesterday. Seriously, he's a good kid. He makes us proud every minute of every day. He's a good student, a good athlete, a good son, and most importantly, a good person. He's pretty independent and doesn't need me too much anymore - except for the food and laundry things. (Although, I have to admit, he does make some pretty good scrambled eggs.) Matt and I left him home alone for the weekend while we took our trailer out for one last time. We were just in Battle Creek and he invited three friends over (all guys, no girls allowed!) Everything was all cleaned up and even all the dishes were done. (Either he's a responsible kid or he had a lot of help after the party!) It was hard to leave him home alone and we did a lot of checking on him via cell phone. I even made Matt call him at midnight one night to make sure the doors were locked, they hadn't left the oven on, they had let Cyrus out, they had eaten something decent, and they all had pillows and blankets. Matt knows how I worry and has learned in 18 years of marriage to humor me and just accept that I'm a control-freak.
We're currently looking into college options. He'd still like to go to Michigan and/or Duke, but he's also checking out some smaller schools and looking into their basketball programs. He's pretty much ruled out any northern schools because he really doesn't like the snow much anymore. (He stopped skiing when he got serious about basketball and didn't want to risk an injury during basketball season.) We're still looking into motor homes so I can park in the parking lot of the dorm and visit with him during the week. He still isn't warming up to that idea! (I personally think it's a fabulous idea. I can still baby my baby and Matt can spend all the time on fantasy football/baseball he wants without feeling guilty. It's a win/win situation for us all. Well, except for Keaton who thinks I'd cramp his college experience. I told him I wouldn't use binoculars to check on him or follow him to class to make sure he didn't get lost. I could just use the GPS on him.) Keaton doesn't think I'm funny anymore...he's a little worried that I'm serious.
One last update is that Keaton can now dunk fairly easily. He still hasn't dunked in a game, but is patiently waiting for the opportunity. They're practicing alley-oop plays in basketball class (yes, he really does have a basketball class), so he's ready for the chance to dunk. He's been playing in a rec. league for the past month and then basketball season will be in full swing in a couple of weeks. We're hoping for a better season for him - both physically and mentally. We're hoping for a better season for us too, because I really don't want to have to start bringing a flask to the games.
