This charming young man is well and truly an adult now, complete with a job, a couple of college classes under his belt, and a hairstyle that mom didn’t choose 😉 Happy 19th Birthday to Nikolai Dickson (a couple of days late, sorry!)

(The earliest photo we have of Niko. Oh, how I wish we could have known him at this age!)

Niko is now in his senior year of homeschooling and also in his second semester of dual enrollment classes at our local Christian college. Next semester he will be attending as a full-time student, but he is already well-known there by friends and professors alike. Last week we heard through Pippa that Niko had delivered a gift of crab cakes to one of his professors following a conversation they had about favorite foods on a recent field trip. “It was the strangest and most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received from a student,” their mutual professor told Pippa. “I just found them in my inbox!”

(This is what happened when I asked Bea and Niko for a “normal, smiling” picture.)

It isn’t just his professors whom Niko blesses with his generosity and his grocery store connections: he regularly brings home treats and snacks to share with all of us, or to bless a particular family member. (My love languages are sugar-free chocolates and Chick-Fil-A salad dressing!) He has blossomed into such a thoughtful guy, and he delights in using his resources to bless others.

Speaking of the grocery store, Niko has been working at Redner’s for over a year and a half now! He first got the job through a combination of sheer grit and a glowing recommendation from the manager of the thrift store he used to volunteer at, and he’s doing such a great job there. He is helpful and friendly with the customers when he’s on register, and he’s now also working part-time in the meats department.

Niko has an eclectic set of interests ranging from chess to playing the accordion (very occasionally) to collecting anklyosauruses. He can strike up a conversation with anyone about anything, and you never know what he might say next! He certainly always keeps things interesting, and he seems to have a way of putting a smile on the face of everyone he interacts with.

As I look back on this boy’s life – the unusual way he entered our family (by way of an airplane rather than Mommy’s tummy) and how hard he’s had to work at everything – I marvel at how far he’s come. He’s smart and tenacious, and at times those traits have been challenging. But he is loving and resilient, and he is always working toward being a better version of himself.

Niko, I am so incredibly proud of you. I see how hard you work at everything you do and how much you want to do the right thing. It has been an honor to be your mom and watch you grow into the young man you are today.