From Sunshine to Snow

I thought it strange when Basil was slow to sign up for spring classes but assumed it was his cavalier attitude towards adulting. Christmas came and went and he still hadn’t responded to any of my hints.
A few days later when half the house was down with a stomach bug, Basil texted me, “I want to talk, but I’m feeling ill in part because of stress. At some point soon let’s find somewhere peaceful or secluded to minimize that, okay?”
“Okay. Want to go out to dinner with me?”
“Not really, rn”
“Later tonight?”
“Sure I suppose.”
I sat with that a moment and then headed upstairs to his bedroom where Basil was lying on his bed in a darkened room not asleep.
“I can’t wait, Basil. What’s going on?”
The jist of it was that Basil didn’t want to go back to Embry Riddle for college. Basil had been feeling emotionally and spiritually isolated at school. Without any Christian friends or family nearby, going to church was hard, and he was lonely. My initial response to Basil was one of support. I don’t want him going to an expensive college out East if he isn’t excited about it, but I also insisted that he stay enrolled full-time in a college or find a full-time job.
Mike asked him what he wanted and after some discussion, Basil said that he was happiest in his life working last summer at the Antiochian Village with church every morning and evening and his days packed full of service and work. They began to discuss Basil’s second choice of college, Hellenic University in Boston which is an Orthodox Christian school near Holy Cross Seminary. They give degrees in humanities, which wasn’t Basil’s first choice since he wanted to become an engineer.
We asked him to apply to Hellenic University for their semester of faith program which is a one-semester commitment where he would study Byzantine history and Orthodox Theology. We also asked him to apply to New Mexico Tech which is where Mike and I went to college for our BS degrees. Basil could do what his dad did and come home every weekend and go to church with us. With Esther, John Ben, and Misha moving in and staying through next summer, we already would have ten people living at our house. Jonah was sleeping in the pool table room on a bunk bed we bought in anticipation for Christmas. I wasn’t eager for Basil to be home full-time as well.
Basil’s flight back on Monday, January 6 came before we knew whether he would be driving north to Boston or west back home to New Mexico. The next week passed while he sent in applications and collected transcripts. He was accepted into Hellenic University and unenrolled from Embry Riddle on Friday and headed out on Saturday.
We had learned our lesson of eighteen-year-olds and hotels in December, so I sent out a plea to my Facebook friends and called Mike’s relatives. We set up a meet-up with Mike’s uncle and aunt in Raleigh, North Carolina for Saturday night and with his elementary teacher who had moved to Jersey City. Basil drove me crazy with his late starts. He said that he was worried about driving tired, but I fretted about him showing up to his relatives and friend’s houses rudely late, and worried about the snow that was threatening to blanket the entire east coast.
He made it safe and sound and had a good time visiting the good folks who were happy to spend time with him too.
What a wild school year from hurricanes in Florida to snow in Boston. It’s been a good change for now though. Basil sounded happy when I spoke with him on the phone. He’s signed up to work at the Antiochian Village for winter camp and for all of next summer. For spring break he hopes to work with Project Mexico. He’s doing good things.
The last time I spoke with him, Basil was leaning towards going back to Embry Riddle in the fall. They would be glad to have him return too. I don’t know what’s next for Basil, but I know that he has a lot of people rooting for him and wishing him the best.