Carter, the adult: How did that happen?

My great-nephew Carter graduated earlier this month from high school in New Ulm, Minn. Over the weekend, his parents staged a big party in his honor, complete with a food truck on site that put out some mighty fine tacos. 

While the food truck was surely a tempting draw to the festivities, the opportunity to see Carter in the spotlight was a heart-warming moment for this ol’ great aunt. It was also one of those “how can this possibly be” moments.

Wasn’t it just “yesterday” that Carter, the first-born of my half-dozen great-nephews and -nieces, was saddled up to our family’s Thanksgiving table in the same highchair that decades ago accommodated both my brother and me, albeit not at the same time, and years later, his three boys, too? I remember the holiday meal as though it was just yesterday.

“Mooooorrrrre CORN!” he loudly announced, “Mooooorrrrree CORN!”

While his “demand” was met several times over, he was encouraged to chomp on some of the turkey and ‘tators that graced the tray before him. He nibbled on some of that, but it was Great-Grandma’s corn that was the highlight of his young palate.

A few years later, during a family vacation at a lake in northern Minnesota, I well remember the “blood curdling” scream that was heard throughout the resort one morning. As we all came running, we discovered that not a single drop of blood had been shed, but instead was his reaction to accidentally falling in the lake as his dad, Tim, was loading their boat on the trailer.

There have been many other moments through the years that have been percolating in my mind in recent months. Like the time, shortly after the passing of my dad, that Carter and his dad were at Mom’s home helping her with some sort of home project. Mom was in her kitchen when Carter so innocently asked, “Where’s the Grandpa?”

While the question dampened my Mom’s eyes, it also made her heart melt.

My dad had a connection with Carter. Just like his dad, he loved to tease kids, and Carter, of course, was no exception. As a little guy, he’d try to get past my Dad, whose self-claimed recliner was positioned in proximity to the path he needed to take into the living room. And as expected, Carter delighted in my Dad’s playful ways to “get him.”

With the miles between us, I haven’t been able to be a part of all of Carter’s big moments. But thanks to his Mom, Ashley, she’s been a trooper in keeping our family in the know through her many pictures and Facebook posts. That’s how we knew when he made the big play on the baseball diamond or lured in the big catch at the lake. This past spring, I finally spied a girl on his arm in a slew of prom pictures. He looked so handsome in his tux and so grown up.

I’m excited to be on the sidelines for this next chapter of Carter’s life, cheering him on in whatever path he chooses to take. And if by chance we’re having corn at our family’s next Thanksgiving, I’ll delight in the memories that Carter has given us all, and just happen to remind him that he should do some nibbling on the turkey and the ‘tators, too.

Congratulations, Carter, on a job well done.