He elected to stay with me so he could "have a full size bed and shower without his shoes." Who am I to argue with that, and fortunately my room had 2 big queen beds!
I have been impressed with so many ways that Nicholas has handled the challenges of the past two months. He has dealt with two credit card hacks, set up his 401K, and deftly navigated being an 18 year-old living away from home with a stranger for the first time in his life while taking 17 hours of classes ranging from communications to philosophy to history. On top of that, he has become very active in the many broadcasting outlets and the school newspaper, the Daily Orange, where he published his first piece!
Visiting him and seeing him this weekend made me realize just how much Nicholas has grown and what a good head he has on his shoulders. He has not been followed the herd and engaging in drinking and drugs. Rather, he seems content to spend time on his own reading the Atlantic or watching sports events through our streaming platforms to which he still has access. He is a resolute and focused young man, and I am in awe of his discipline and drive to learn and master the craft he has chosen to pursue.
During this visit, we spent a good deal of time exploring Syracuse. We went to a local food hall called the Salt City Market three times! Each visit did not disappoint.
We took in Syracuse football pre-game festivities on the Quad and had yummy pizza. If only the game, and our view of the field had been as good! See below.
On Saturday, we went to a few campus events, including a Q/A with the Newhouse Dean and a tour of South Campus where approximately 50% of sophomores end up. We had another great lunch at Salt City and then had some downtime before heading to a great thai place called Lemongrass. It was one of the best meals of my life, but I think the company had as much to do with it as the food!
Afterwards, it was back to Salt City for dessert, pumpkin pie and banana nutella cake! We then took in another Syracuse landmark, the Destiny USA Mall, New York's biggest shopping mall. It was big but otherwise forgettable. We ended the night watching Michigan defeat Purdue on TV and enjoyed an extra hour of sleep for daylight savings time.
On our last day together, we headed to Lake Onondaga, a true "finger" lake and then went out to breakfast at Water Street Bagel Company for breakfast sandwiches and then a wonderful bakery called The Sweet Praxis for amazing vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and a turmeric flavored drink called the Golden Oat! We then headed back to the hotel for a little Chiefs-Dolphins, and then I dropped Nicholas off at his dorm.
What a weekend with an amazing young man!
Simon and Garfunkel wrote about "The Only Living Boy in New York." However, Nicholas, you are truly the greatest living boy in New York! I miss you and cannot wait to see you at Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Love you, son!
