A Fascination of Space

I vividly remember the inception of my son's fascination with space. Astronaut Dan Tani made a visit to Grant's third grade class.  Astronaut Tani showed up to the school auditorium and a very excited bunch of kids.  You could feel the excitement in the room.  Little did they know this day would be so inspiring and forever change their understanding of spaceflight.

Astronaut Tani flew on the Endeavor and was one of the lucky members to complete spacewalks and repair of the International Space Station.  He showed the children live video he filmed from the flight.  Everyone's mouth (including myself, the teachers and principle) was to the floor.  We viewed the astronauts performing important functions and also having fun just goofing around at zero gravity.  What an experience!

The fascination with flight and space continued for my son.  A few summer rocketry classes and we know this interest would continue.

All of these experiences have culminated in Grant's senior engineering project.  His mentor, Mr. Bobby Russel, of Quest for Stars will take these high school seniors to the next level of space exploration and aerospace engineering principles.



Photo above: "(L to R) Bobby Russell (Quest for Stars) Grant Garrity and Max Wasserman from High Tech High. They have taken on the challenge of improving our payload design. They will be focusing on making the avionics packages waterproof. Credit: Quest for Stars"

Danielle

This past year with Grant has been filled with many great memories. From dinners at his house and mine, go-karting, Chinese food, McDonald’s cookies, ice skating with friends, and giving my dog Max a bath, one of Grant’s favorite things to do. All of these times have left lasting memories and one that sticks out the most is when Grant made dinner for not only me, but my family too. On a Sunday night when my mom was sick Grant found the perfect time to get her out of the kitchen and finally make dinner for all of us. He had always said he was a great cook and it was time to see if he lived up to all his talk. He came over with his groceries and his homemade salad dressing. On the menu was salad and chicken cacciatore. After cooking the chicken, making the sauce, and cutting the vegetables for the salad, he plated everyones dish like we were in a restaurant. We all sat down to eat and everything Grant had bragged about was true, his food was delicious. Then to top it off he made us bananas foster for dessert.  It was the perfect ending to the meal. My mom, her fiancé, and even my brother, who never eats anything, loved the meal and told him he was welcome to cook for them anytime. It was such a great dinner and it is something I always remember because it was so sweet of him to bring all the food and cook dinner for everyone. It’s those kinds of memories that stick with me and remind me how thoughtful and kind Grant is.

Love,
Danielle

On Love

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched....but are felt in the heart.

-Helen Keller

We can all reminisce about our high school romances--some tumultuous, some love/hate and some that simply should not have been.  And there were those perfect matches we all envied, too.  But through it all we learned great lessons of love.


Fortunately, for my son, a serious girlfriend did not come too early in life and in high school an adorable, sweet girl entered his world (and our family).  I felt so protective of her.  Was my son taught enough about being respectful, being a gentleman?  I worried as all mothers do.


I remember a conversation I had with one of our favorite elementary school teachers (Miss C), after school one day long ago.  She was a tall, elegant, beautiful lady who had gotten engaged.  The kids were awed by the ring on her finger.  When I prodded if he was "worthy" she laughed and said her fiance's mother definitely did well and taught him right.  He was a complete gentleman, took good care of her, adored and protected her, was chivalrous and all of those other "must-haves" girls dream of.  That conversation always stayed in the back of my mind when raising my son.

I hope Grant remembers our many discussions (ad-nauseum) and he will always be a gentleman.  I can already see him rolling his eyes when he reads this.  If he is able to tune-in, listen and follow his heart, I have faith for a very happy future filled with love.

Hell's Kitchen

Ampersand: The Student Journal of School and Work was published in 2010.  The students in Grant's Humanities course wrote personal stories about what they felt important in the 21st century--their worlds, experiences, ideas, all combined into one.  It was a fascinating read.

Grant grew up watching his favorite shows on the Food Network.  He watched cooking shows like I watched cartoons as a kid.  As he matured and was safe(r) in the kitchen, he tried new recipes, informed his parents we were "doing it wrong" and eventually developed quite a passion for the culinary arts.  Of course two of his favorite shows had the most beautiful chefs--Rachel Ray and Giada De Laurentiis.  Fortunately, we only had one trip to the ER when experimenting with a VERY sharp knife as a child (he actually locked himself in the bathroom because he was so scared of all the bleeding but his sister tattled on him, thank goodness).  Twenty-something stitches later, Grant learned to appreciate the danger of sharp knives and how to use them properly.

The last sentence of Grant's Ampersand article sums it up beautifully. "Cooking is something that I do for enjoyment.  If I turned my hobbies into careers, then I will have lost my best source of stress relief."

I have a feeling Grant will continue to please many people's palates with his culinary expertise.  My hope is for this hobby to remain a source of pleasure and enjoyment.


Photo above of Chef Grant working his magic in the kitchen.

The Craziest Sport Ever

I always knew my son was a tough cookie.  I did not, however, realize there was a sport that would cut me to the core with fear and anxiety.  The sport is rugby.

When I was informed my son wanted to play rugby, initially I thought it was cool and a new experience for an athletic kid.  That was, until I watched my first game.  It was a mother's worst nightmare and I panicked.  I honestly thought my son would be broken in half (or at least a broken something).

Grant's best friend's mom and my dear friend is a Kiwi.  Rugby is as popular in New Zealand as the NFL is in the U.S.  In fact, rugby is a worldwide culture of its own.   I was assured there were fewer injuries playing rugby compared to football.  How could that be?  There is no protective gear and kids are tackled and thrown to the ground!  Rugby became a part of our life when the San Diego Young Aztecs club team called.  And Grant LOVED it.


The biggest thrill was coming in third place at the Southern California championships.   The competition was fierce and it appeared the winning team had pulled the roughest street kids from L.A. and turned them into fantastic rugby players.  There was only one child removed by ambulance at the tournament.  Ugh!


YouTube video above of rugby well played by the U16 Young Aztec team.

Hoping for the Best

When my son reads this blog in June I hope he comes away with the message--I tried my best.  I really did.  It was very easy to judge other parents BK (before kids) and I often would say, "When I have kids I will NEVER do that!!!" Or even better, "My parents did x,y, or z and I swear I'll never do that!"  I have since learned never say never.

People say parenting is the toughest job you'll ever do.  They are correct.  It is the toughest but, undoubtedly, also the most rewarding.  I just hope I didn't screw it up too bad in raising a son.

Sharing stories with other parents always made me feel better.  I am not alone in the craziness.  If I lost it and spanked my toddler, others will empathize (assuming they are not in the anti-spanking group).  If my child had a major meltdown in the grocery store and EVERYONE turned to stare, others will empathize.  If my child hit, kicked and bit me at the park when I said it was time to leave, others will empathize.  The best consolation came when the "Super Nanny" television show aired.  After watching that show, I knew I wasn't doing so bad.

My ultimate wish is that I did good enough to create a loving and responsible son who will be a happy and productive member of society.

An Alternative Education

What does a parent do when their child needs an alternative to traditional schooling?  This is a daunting question and one I grappled with for quite some time.  There are just some kids who do not fit the mold for a traditional school setting.  These kids like to "think outside the box."

Fortunately, with some luck and good timing the alternative simply appeared.  Thanks to the educational visionaries who were disenchanted with the direction and outcome of traditional schools-- the High Tech charter schools were formed.  The school(s) were designed with four principles:  a) personalization b) adult world connection c) common intellectual mission and d) teacher as designer.

Grant thrived in this setting.  It was project-based learning (no textbooks but learn by doing), the classrooms had 25 students max,   all kids had access to laptops and the newest technology, the teachers were young/fun and on one year contracts (if they were inefficient they were gone).  Watching a bunch of middle and high school kids get excited about their learning was mind-blowing.

From middle school through high school I cannot recount all of the opportunities and benefits reaped via the High Tech schools--there were too many.  One of my favorite experiences was the mandatory 11th grade academic internship.  All of the kids had to secure an adult workplace environment and spend three weeks working full-time, side by side with their mentors.  What an incredible way to gain real world experience.  This was the apex for Grant's real world connection.  


My sincerest and deepest gratitude is extended to the founders and visionaries of the High Tech schools.  Grant loves to learn and will have a bright future.

Photo above of Grant's beloved middle school humanities teacher Mrs. Morton (far left), myself and Grant on one of their many fun field trips.