Joseph recaps his (and our) 2024

[Each year I ask the kids to write “a paragraph” about their year which I can include in our Christmas newsletter. This year Joseph turned in nearly 650 words. I couldn’t use anywhere near that much in print, so we’re running it here instead. Below is his lightly-edited, but unabridged, account.]

I turned 14 this year. Now I’m in high school. Great. This year I had to perform at the UMSL Des Lee concert with like 50 random people I’d never met. Fun. Now, whatever person decided to pick the clarinetist at the bottom of his class, well you should reconsider your life choices. It was kind of fun I guess.

We went to see the CONCACAF soccer game. St. Louis City SC (that is such a dumb name) beat the Houston Dynamo (much better name), 2-1. That was fun to watch.

A couple days later I got inducted into National Junior Honor Society. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s the punishment for having straight A’s. I couldn’t have gotten ONE C.

I won first place at the National History Day regional tournament for my individual performance. I had to write AND perform a short scene. I won the school competition. Then the regional competition. Then the state competition. I think you know where this is going. I went to nationals and FINALLY didn’t win. If they hadn’t put me in acting class, I wouldn’t have had to travel to Washington D.C. and perform.

For my birthday, we went to see a Blues game. Not surprisingly, they lost. If we’d gone the next day they would have won. For real – they won the next day.

A week later, I played with the STEAM Middle jazz band at Little Creek. Remind me not to wear shorts when it’s freezing cold out. Then I decided to play with the marching band AGAIN [for the Valley of Flowers parade]. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson.

Then one day OUT OF NOWHERE we decide to go to La Belle, Missouri, to see a solar flare aurora. That was interesting.

When we watched the St. Louis City2 soccer team, God decided it would be funny to drop a tornado warning before the game. I spent 30 minutes in a crowded bathroom that I would like to forget, then the game was played. We won.

Dad and me went to the Fort de Chartres “Rendezvous.” (Whoa, that’s a lot of french) It was really cool. There were at least 10 battalions, wearing period clothing too. It would have been great if the water molecules in the clouds hadn’t become liquid again and fallen to the earth as precipitation.

Then we had a whole road trip. I’m sure everybody else covered that in detail. [Editor’s note: Not really. But here are some photos]

Then we had too many swim meets. Did I mention I don’t like swimming? (competitively, that is) Mr. Spurgeon, the STEAM High fitness teacher, always tells me I should join the swim team whenever he sees me in a swim team shirt.

After a long summer, I decided to not take band in high school and instead learn to play bagpipes. TO BE CLEAR — I don’t have actual bagpipes. Those things are expensive. I am using a practice chanter.

Then I attended a Petra concert. It was great, except for the whole there-are-100s-of-us-in-a-small-enclosed-space-and-the-AC-unit-is-broken thing. That was bad. But the concert was still cool.

Then we went to Pilot Knob to see a Civil War reenactment. Basically, the Confederates wanted to beat up St. Louis, but the Union built a fort and said, “Try it.” So the Confederates attacked. And then failed to capture the fort. Then Union ran away and blew the fort up. That was an experience.

Then Dad and me with a whole bunch of others biked 44-ish miles on the Katy Trail (22 miles forward, then another 22 back) and camped overnight in tents. It was very “in-tents.”

I somehow got tricked into auditioning for “The Little Mermaid.” I ended up playing a sailor, chef and sea creature in the ensemble. Chasing crabs around the stage with knives really takes it out of you.

And to top it all off, I auditioned for the spring play, “She Kills Monsters,” and I have been cast as “Steve.” I will die in all but two of my scenes. But, hey, less lines to learn!