The Boy Made The Dean Martin List!

So when your kid heads to college, you always worry about their grades. They usually don’t tell you how they’re doing, except saying, “I’m fine.” So when we got a call from my mother-in-law telling us Erik made the Dean’s List, we were ecstatic.

Yes, I guess it means I’m a terrible father for not seeing the list first.

My kids have always been smart when it came to school, so this isn’t a huge surprise, but the first year in college is usually very difficult. I’m very proud he made the Dean’s List and that his grades are very good.

Off To College

Yesterday, Mrs. Earp drove this formerly little kid to Alvernia University for the weekend’s student orientation. They set up Erik’s dorm and got everything settled, and classes begin on Monday. Erik, for his part, is excited about his schedule, because he has no classes on Fridays.

I am more than certain he will do well at Alvernia, as Erik has always earned good grades.

Yesterday was a mixed bag for me, because I was scheduled to work, and since we are so short on manpower, I couldn’t take the day off. I explained to Erik why I couldn’t be with him on his first day, and he seemed to understand, but the fact of the matter is this job keeps me away from my family.

When I walked into work on Friday morning, Salam Hayek said, “You should have gone and taken the day off.” That’s great in theory, but with two detectives on vacation, one out sick, and Diego in court, we had three people in the building.

It took me quite a while to realize how terrible this job has become, and how often I was never there for my kids’ events. I don’t know if they resent me for that, but I’m sure they were occasionally upset with me and this job.

I do my best to get off for the larger events, but there are times I cannot make it happen. I missed most of Julia’s music recitals, missed more than a few of Kyle and Erik’s lacrosse games, and family get-togethers. Hell, I haven’t been to a Thanksgiving in years.

I hope Erik doesn’t resent me for not being there yesterday, and I wish I was a better parent.

It’s Graduation Day

Well, today will be a very busy day.

Two of my sons will be graduating today; Erik will be graduating from high school at 10am, and Kevin will be graduating from elementary school at 7pm. You wouldn’t think graduations would be set on the same day, but at least the ceremonies are spread apart.

Erik will be attending Alvernia University in the fall, and Kevin will be attending Archbishop Ryan High School – my and Mrs. Earp’s Alma mater. It’s a big day at the Earp Ranch, so I’m not sure I’ll be around much today. I will have posts set up today, however.

It’s Alvernia!

Well, after many college visits, meetings with lacrosse coaches, and researching schools, Erik has decided to commit to Alvernia University in Reading, PA.

Erik applied to many colleges – Alderson Broaddus (WV), Alvernia (PA), Arcadia (PA), Bryn Athyn (PA), Mississippi State, and Wilkes (PA) – and was accepted by every school, mostly because his grades have always been very high. We didn’t visit Mississippi State or Wilkes, but visited every other school. Arcadia was close by, but everyone there used their personal pronouns. That was a deal-breaker for him. Alderson was a little too far for him, and it came down to Bryn Athyn and Alvernia.

In the end, Erik wanted to go away to school, so Alvernia was the best choice. The university is only an hour and a half away from home, so we can get him if he wants to come home for the weekend. We both loved the campus and the atmosphere there, and hopefully he’ll have a much better college experience than Kyle had.

Another Road Trip

Today Erik and I are hitting the open road. We’re visiting Alvernia University in Reading, PA, to attend the “Accepted Students Day” where we’ll tour the school and see what they have to offer. Erik has applied to a handful of schools – Alderson Broaddus, Transylvania, Wilkes, Arcadia, Alvernia, and Bryn Athyn College, and has been accepted to every one.

Since it’s getting late in the game, we’re running around to the schools he hasn’t seen. Today, it’s Alvernia, and tomorrow it’s Arcadia, which is only about a twenty-minute drive.

Hopefully, Erik will make his decision soon, and maybe we’ll be able to talk to the lacrosse coaches of these schools while we’re there. I’ll have posts up all weekend, but I’m not sure how often I’ll be on.

Wish us luck!

Your Mission, Should You Accept It…

You may remember back in October when Erik and I went to his first college recruitment visit. Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, West Virginia came at Erik very early on, asking him to be a part of their lacrosse team.

The trip was a nice one, the campus is gorgeous, and there are less students at the university than there are at Erik’s high school. Erik enjoyed the trip and seemed to like the campus. The coach was great and the students seemed generally friendly.

As I was driving to work yesterday, Erik sent me a text that he was officially accepted to Alderson Broaddus!

Erik’s still not one hundred percent sure he wants to go to college, but he is very happy his top choice wants him there. I think the trepidation is from Kyle’s less-than-stellar year at Dallas, but I know Erik is certainly smart enough to well at AB.

We’re all very proud of him.

The Accolades Continue

So yesterday I was sitting at my desk entering jobs when Mrs. Earp sent me a text message. I looked at the message and was instantly thrilled. Erik made the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll!

Many athletes made the honor roll from Erik’s school, with a decent amount from the lacrosse team.

Sr. Maureen McDermott, IHM, PhD, Superintendent for Secondary Schools, Office of Catholic Education, has announced the 2021 Archdiocese of Philadelphia Spring Sports Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll, which recognizes the high school student-athletes of the Archdiocese who earned first or second academic honors in the third quarter marking period while competing in baseball, softball, lacrosse, outdoor track & field, boys’ tennis, crew, and boys’ volleyball or a fall sport that competed in the alternate spring season per PIAA guidelines.

The irony here is Erik missed First Honors this semester by one lousy point.

“AOP programs enjoyed great individual and team success in the Spring sports season,” said Sister Maureen. “To have such a significant number of students earn academic honors while competing in athletics speaks volumes about their commitment to the student-athlete experience.”

Erik, like Kyle, is a very good lacrosse player, and his grades have been pretty spectacular. In fact, Transylvania University in Kentucky sent him an email Tuesday offering him a priority application. The school has been looking at him for lacrosse, but his grades obviously made an impact.

As always, we’re very proud of him and his accomplishments.

So, This Is Pretty Great

Erik’s high school lacrosse season began toward the end of March, and while everyone assumed the season would turn out to be another mediocre year, the Crusaders have been totally outplaying their competition.

And by that I mean, they are currently 6-0.

Erik called this at the beginning of the year. He looked over the schedule and said, “I think we’re going to win a lot of games this year.” (Insert Dad eyeroll here). I reminded him there are some powerhouses in the league, but he continued to stand his ground. The team has been very confident, and it shows on the field.

No one was more shocked than I. That’s not a shot at the team, per se. They have a nice crop of good players this year – especially Erik and his two fellow face-off guys – but the competition in their conference is pretty impressive.

So far, the Crusaders have outscored their opponents 80-19, and during the game against Cardinal O’Hara, the three faceoff guys won 24 out of 25 face-offs. Erik won 5 out of 6.

Erik has ten games left, and of those, five of them are against very tough teams. They likely won’t go undefeated, but with any luck, they will earn their best record in years. It’s a nice change from finishing .500 – or worse – every year, especially with college scouts looking at him.

Adventures In Child-Rearing

Unlike Kevin and Princess P, Erik’s school is utilizing a hybrid school schedule. The school is doing one day in school and one day online. I think it’s a ridiculous scenario which doesn’t benefit the students, but common sense is not entirely common anymore.

Like every kid, Erik needs socialization. Spending all day, every day in your own home can do some pretty severe damage to people’s psyche, and leads to all types of problems, such as depression. The good news is lacrosse practices have begun, and while Erik is suffering from shin splints, he should be good to go for the regular season.

Or so we thought.

Yesterday, one of the administrators called to tell me “because your son, on Monday March 8,was in a classroom and in proximity of a student who tested positive for Covid-19, your son will have to quarantine for Mon-Thu next week.”

Are you f**king kidding me? Erik has no symptoms, and kids are almost always immune to the Chinese Wuhan Virus maladies. But hey, “abundance of caution,” or some other garbage.

Worse still, it means he is banned from lacrosse practice until next week, and will miss the team’s first scrimmage. Also note, his lacrosse season was canceled last year, thanks to the Chinese. As Mrs. Earp said yesterday, “I am so over this.” It’s been over a year since the ChiComs released this plague upon the world, and far too many Americans are still acting like it’s Bubonic Plague.

There was some good news yesterday, however.

Two weeks ago, Kevin took the practice test for a really good private school in the area. (We would rather he not attend the school Kyle and Erik attended. See above.) The test took three hours and had nearly 298 questions.

We didn’t tell Kevin that beforehand. Why stress him out?

Anyway, Mrs. Earp drove him to the test, and sat in on a few speeches about the school while Kevin was taking the practice exam. The administrators said if a student earned a high enough score, they would not have to take the test again. Kevin is a very smart 7th grader, but I told him to just do his best, and whatever happens happens.

Kevin was tired when he got home, but he said he thought he did okay. We received the results yesterday, and he scored an 89. We’re not sure if that’s good enough to get him in – and the tuition is crazy – but he was very pleased with his score.

Worse comes to worse, if the prep school doesn’t work out, there’s a very good charter school close to our home.

A Victory Of A Sort

This weekend I had the pleasure of taking Erik (#88 in blue) to Delaware for the Victory Fall Classic lacrosse tournament. The tournament spanned Saturday and Sunday, with three games for each team. Considering Erik’s sophomore season was eliminated thanks to the Chinese Wuhan Virus and our a-hole governor, this was his first tournament since summer of 2019.

Erik’s team is undefeated in their Fall league, but the competition in Delaware was much more impressive. I told Mrs. Earp we may come home without a win, but it’s always good when you play tougher opponents.

Erik is one of two face-off specialists on the team. Erik, like Kyle, is very good at face-offs; but he uses a different strategy. Kyle used his speed to win draws, while Erik uses his size and muscle. I hoped he had a good weekend because college scouts were in attendance.

Erik didn’t disappoint…