So I've written like 5 or 6 posts for this blog in my head. Man, they were good too, ha ha. Unfortunately, they never made it from my brain to my keyboard and now it's been a month since my last blogging. There were posts about my half-marathon training (what!?), Leah Kate's turning 3, back to school. All sorts of great stuff ;)
So Matthew just started Middle school this week. 6th grade; incredible! One of my "assignments" as a parent was to write "in a million words or less" about Matthew. Do these people not know that I don't think of that as a joke, but a challenge?? Luckily Matthew saw me writing and made me stop, ha ha. That said, I figured I'd cheat and get a blog post out of it :) This is written sort of stream of conscience, no editing afterward other than the spell/grammar check, but it's how I felt about Matthew yesterday :)
Early in the morning nearly 12 years ago, on November 9th, 1998, Matthew Lucas Nyce was born, the first child for his parents Mark and (me) Kristin. For the 1st 19 months of his life he lived in the Italian market section of Philadelphia, cutting his teeth on canollis and fresh mozzarella. In June of 2000 he and his family moved north to New Haven, CT where we worked at Yale. It was here in the winter of 2003 that Matthew’s standing as an only child was changed with the birth of his brother, Thomas. All of our lives were changed that day in bigger ways than just adding a child to our family; it was also that day that we discovered Thomas was born with Down syndrome. That summer Matthew again moved, this time to Charlottesville, VA where we worked at the University of VA. It was also here that Matthew began his formal schooling; both K and 1st grade were completed there. It was three years later that he arrived in his current and longest residence, Savannah, GA, more specifically, Wilmington Island. He attended Hancock Day School for 2nd and 3rd grade, and when Thomas began K at Marshpoint Elementary, we decided to buck the tradition in our neighborhood and have both boys attend public school- a decision we couldn’t be happier about. At the start of Matthew’s 3rd grade year, his life was once again changed forever with the birth of his sister, Leah Kate in August of 2007.
Matthew is a special kid. He’s more patient with his brother and sister than even I am at times. He’s funny and silly and makes everyone laugh. Despite his irreverence he is still kind and respectful to anyone he meets, not seeing disability or color or anything but the person. He is hardworking, mowing lawns for extra money, playing both offensive and defensive line in football and catcher in baseball- in the fall both in the same season. He is creative, drawing cartoons and playing his trumpet. He loves to read books in his “spare time”. He doesn’t seem to care much yet about what his friends and peers think- and I hope that continues. He is Godly, gladly attending both Sunday school and church with us every Sunday. He’s a loyal and good friend. He loves animals, especially his 1-year-old Goldendoodle, Rocky who sadly watches him board the bus each morning. He of course is not without fault. He’s inherited my propensity for being messy and a procrastinator. If left to his own vices he’d likely play the wii and watch TV for hours. He sometimes has to be reminded more than once to do something. However, he always does as he is asked.
I am going to rein this in here, Matthew told me not to take the million words literally (the boy knows I tend to go on and on when given the opportunity). In short, Matthew is a wonderful son, a worshipped big brother. He is an honor roll student and a hardworking athlete. He works hard, especially when pushed. He’s one of a kind, I hope you can get a small glimpse of the Matthew I know and love!
Hope his new teachers love him as much as I do :)
(by the way, the picture is on his first day of school. We have to be at the bus stop at 6am, hence the blackness of night ;) )
