Eirik at 14

 We have lived in our new house on Rosmeont Road for 3 months. We have done 8 months of online school with three months of summer in between. It's been 11 months since we first started to quarantine. during those 11 months, our seclusion has varied from strict to more open, but it has been 11 months since any of us have been in a crowd of people or at a party. It's been 11 months since we traveled anywhere except the beach house and the cabin.  We cancelled 3 family vacations and got used to being at home all the time. 

Eirik is now 14. He was so excited to design his new room in the new house. He had big plans. He wanted a new bed, which I tease him about incessantly because he always wants a new bed. He's always reinventing his sleeping situation whether its a softer bed, higher bed, a hammock, a loft, a larger bed, a swinging bed, a bed outside, an air mattress, a new under quilt for a hammock, hammock with a mattress inside,  platform bed, bed on the floor, a variety of sleeping bags with different temperatures and lets not even discuss the pillows. I like to tease him, but he's pretty serious about it. The last bed we bought him is a queen with 4 large drawers under for storage. He disliked the drawers because they were too big and hard to organize and wanted a sectional that pulls out into a bed for his new room. I drug my feet. I knew it wouldn't be comfortable enough to be long lasting. He was not happy, but I made him keep his old bed. His new room didn't have a closet, so we bought a wardrobe from Ikea. I also bought him a new coffee table, 2 cubbie pieces, a bookshelf and 3 floating shelves and spent a week getting it all set up. Now he has tons  storage. We painted his walls a deep blue / gray.  He put strip LED lights along the baseboard of his room and he talked me into having a TV in his room. He has a fish tank and a hamster and a google home. He has a big glass pitcher of water that he keeps icy and since he does school in his room, now I never see him. He's become incredibly independent. He comes to see me when he wants his back popped or to get a hug. I'm so glad he needs something from me. He can't wait to drive. He turns 15 in less than two months and hes studying for his drivers test. He practices his guitar and loves anime shows.  He has a few really close friends. He has a wicked sense of humor. He is a witty and funny as they come. He makes  knives in the garage and likes his electric bike.  He took a film class this semester and made a funny short film with his cousin Jake. For Halloween Eirik and Jake dressed up as Shibuto from Naruto. They wear their Naruto rings all the time and Eirik has lots of finger signs he likes to do. He asked for rings and a handheld vacuum for his room for Christmas. I had "ninja warrior, samarai" inscribed inside his ring I bought him. It's from the song I wrote for him when he was little.  I bought him a big set of grownup soaps and a razer to shave his upper lip. He likes to count his calories and drink a gallon of water every day. He has a fitbit and likes to count his steps. He has a workout plan he's trying to keep to. He hangs out with Eli Dykstra, Henry, Neil, Bruce, Luke, Everett and Paxton. He had a girlfriend for a few weeks named Lola, but it fizzled just before Christmas. Eirik claimed they wanted different things, but would not tell me more.  He has excelled at school. He gets straight A's. He's missed being in school with all the other kids for his whole Freshman year.  I wonder if it's not a great blessing in disguise. I have only been thinking about all the things he's missing out on like band, choir, walking in the halls, lunch with friends, meeting girls, and working out in the weight room. There is so much socially that he hasn't been able to do. I'm trying to see what might be positive about hybrid school. My sister suggested that maybe it's better that they are missing all the negative aspects of middle and high school. Maybe. At 14, I was crazy about going to stake dances every month. Eirik has never been to a dance.  Eirik missed Philmont, a 14 day adventure hike in AZ that was supposed to happen last year and because of Covid, he quit scouts. He also decided that he's no good at sports. I'm still so proud of him for playing football and baseball for so many years. His team took state two years ago. I wish he would still play. His friends are still playing. He just thinks that if he can't be on the A team, he can't play. His new years resolution is to be more tough. We talked about tough meaning resilient, disciplined, and courageous as opposed to hard-hearted. I hope for this year he will have opportunities to be a leader. I hope he will develop his guitar skills, (I need to find him a good teacher.) I hope he will learn to drive and continue to build these great friendships he has. I hope he will stay away from girls and work on being kind to his siblings. Maybe I can help him find his first job. I want to take him camping and to Yellowstone and when he's 16, I want to take him to Europe. He loves Hawaii and has only been once. I really want my kids to see the Caribbean, or Hawaii again. And we should go to Disneyland again before Eirik is too old to enjoy it with the younger kids.  I hope this year we will travel much more.