Now that I feel caught up with what has been going on with me, I can dive into some of the current few months that just past. Mijo going to school at Southwestern University and being a Pirate seems to be a great choice and a perfect fit for how we are. I say how we are, because we are a close-knit family and I know some people want their kid out there growing up and experiencing life, we like our boy to come home on the weekends and still be with us. On the worst of days, it might take an hour and a half to go get him during the busy hours, but if we plan it right, we can also be up there in 45 minutes. Georgetown is a world away, he needs to stay in the dorms, we couldn't possibly drive him there and back every day, but it is also minutes away, when he has wanted to come home, I can be up there in less than an hour and if need be, I can jump on the toll road and drive 80-85 both ways to be a little faster.
This positive aspect of location has allowed Mijo to still have come and seen about half of the Cougar's games in the fall (because they played Thursdays or Fridays), and then he and I attended about a quarter of the wrestling events. A few were on Wednesdays, and I would rush up and pick him up, we'd go watch some wrestling, then I would take him back to campus. What more could I ask for than hanging out with my kid mid-week, usually ending with some dinner, to make the night complete.
Another positive to SU, is him being an athlete, it becomes a whole lifestyle. Every week, he is working on something, there is very little downtime to just lay around and be lazy. I know that this fits his mentality, he would almost fit in a military lifestyle. He likes the structure of getting up, sometimes very early, to work out before going to classes, then doing it again in the afternoon. The coaches leave it up to them right now in the offseason and he is trying this best to be proactive and bring others out to join the group and workout, voluntarily. I love that he has a sense of belonging, every shirt he wears has gone from Cougars to Pirates. His brother Boy went to Tx State, and I don't think he owned or wore more than maybe 1 shirt that said Tx State, and both him and his mom went there. Mijo is just very group oriented, and I am glad he has been accepted and liked by the other guys, he works hard to impress and belong.
The Fall was a blur, he was technically on the JV team, which was alright for his freshman year. He dressed out for the home games and was on the sideline, which had him looking like the real deal. There were a couple of games where he did play, a scrimmage in Ft Worth, a JV game (where he did get a slight injury) but played extensively, and then another game in Missouri where he got on the field, towards the end of the season. He has found a core group of husky guys to hang with, the linemen are all friendly, bonded by their love for Whataburger, which they would go to eat on "Thick Man Thursdays" and they generally tend to stick together.
His roommate has also been good, they get along enough that they go work out in the regular gym once in a while, but that kid lives a whole different lifestyle, he is not a jock, so he gets to stay up late, party a bit, then sleep late in the mornings. Still, Mijo hasn't said there are problems, they are friendly enough. He says he felt bad in the fall because he would only see him running out in the morning going to workouts and late in the day, coming back to bed. There is more free time now in the Spring to slow down and get to know each other.
I like that the coaches are another set of adults keeping the boys in line, making good choices, plus Georgetown is a sleepy town with not much of a party scene. The University only has 1,900 students, a lot by high school standards, but Tx State has near 40,000, and UT has over 50,000, so the shenanigans are going to kept to a minimum. I love that.
No comments:
Post a Comment