We are in the thick of Haddonfield High School’s “Spirit Week” – and this shit is crazy. It’s a week of competition between the grades that includes multiple events – scavenger hunts, food drive, trivia contests, sports. But the main event is the hallway competition. Each class gets a hallway in the school to decorate. They choose a theme and go all out transforming their hallway into that world. They build huge structures, craft elaborate costumes – last year one hallway had a live horse. The creativity and dedication is remarkable.
Now, the unwritten rule is that every year the Seniors end up winning. Which means that typically the Seniors don’t work as hard as the other classes. They’re in the thick of college applications and they’re kind of over it by the 4th time through. And they’re going to win anyways, right?
But Alex Nuckols is NOT over it.
Apparently, no class has ever pulled off “The Sweep.” This would mean coming in first in every single event. And Alex has decided that his class will be the first to accomplish this feat. So this year the Seniors are not coasting – they are going all out.
My back yard…
They are sawing, painting, taping, and assembling. The grass is covered in blue paint. The back porch is a junkyard. The dog goes out each morning and licks their leftover coffee cups and pizza boxes.
My garage…
No chance. I borrowed my neighbor’s lawnmower instead.
My car…
Is a cesspool of candy wrappers, building supplies, and cardboard. The gas is always empty. The AC is always pegged.
My basement…
To be revealed after the hallway competition, but suffice it to say…it is impassable.
My evenings…
I came home last night at 9:30 and couldn’t find Alex. Then this emerges from the basement…
The headlamp. The power drill. The pink outfit because that day was “Ken and Barbie” day. He was building some kind of frame in the back yard. He was still out there when I went to bed at 10:30.
My mornings…
Alex asks us to get him up early so he can start working. Then when we wake him up, he is a complete asshole about it. Then he wraps himself in a blanket and stomps to the basement in his underwear. Months ago he insisted that he would handle his own laundry. But Spirit Week has taken all his time. So he goes to the basement, puts on dirty clothes, and starts his day.
My son…
Alex has no use for us. We are an inconvenience. A nuisance. Annoying. He has too much to do. It’s Spirit Week! Which quite honestly, I am ready to be done with.
However…
There are some things that I like.
- Each night for the past two weeks, after they’re done working, we end up with a group of kids hanging out on our back porch. There’s music and loud laughing. They shuttle in to grab blankets, raid our snacks, and put on my coats and gloves. Senior Year is a special year, and I can feel that glow coming from them. I get nostalgic for that feeling of acceptance and warmth. He’s in it. It’s happening right there.
- When dinner is ready, we often end up having Alex’s friends eat with us. Shani and I have become close with several of his friends. In fact, we adore them. So having them join us for Pasta Puttanesca or lentil soup…I do not take those moments lightly.
- In spite of him being an ogre, Alex is living large. He starts early and goes late, and I recognize that energy. I know that sense of urgency, that feeling that there is so much joy in the world that you can’t fit enough of it into each day.
OK…I’ll keep you posted. We’ll see if they can pull off The Sweep.
NuckolBall 
You are so wise to treasure these days….they will be gone all too soon.