Hello,
Thank you for checking in on all things Kanak. Here it goes...
Mary
As with many of our winters, the start of 2024 was filled with bowling tournaments and scholastic bowl for Mary. She was among the leaders her bowling team with an average of 172, which is pretty impressive given the fact that she threw a straight ball and averaged under 130 during her first season of competitive bowling in 2021-2022. In addition to a solid average, Mary's contributions went a long way toward helping the Herscher Varsity Girls' Bowling team secure a second-place finish at Regionals and advance to IHSA Sectionals as a team for the first time in program history. Mary had qualified for Sectionals as an individual during her first two seasons, but helping the team advance was extra special. The ride ended at Sectionals for the Tigers, including Mary, who threw the final shots of her high school bowling career. Although she fell short of advancing to the IHSA State Tournament, Mary left an impressive mark on the HHS Bowling record book.
Throughout her senior year, she also served as the school newspaper's editor.
She served as captain of her scholastic bowl team, leading her team in answered questions. In addition to keeping up with her rigorous high school schedule, she was also applying for scholarships and college admissions. Though we had some disappointments along the way, she held her head up high.
In February, she was crowned the 2024 HHS Winterball Queen.
As spring came around, her life got even busier as her final year of high school softball began. To say that Mary had a good season is an understatement. Picking up where she left off during the previous travel softball season, Mary became a force to be reckoned with as a small-ball artist, defensive standout, and base-stealing machine. In 37 games for HHS, she racked up 60 hits, 47 runs scored, and 33 stolen bases. Those 60 hits contributed to a final batting average of .545 and an on-base percentage of .595. What's more amazing about those numbers is that they actually should've been higher as, unfortunately, Mary had at least 8-10 hits taken away on bad calls on close plays at first. To be clear, this is NOT the opinion of an overly enthusiastic father; thanks to the conveniences of livestreaming, there is video evidence that would've definitively shown that she beat out the aforementioned plays. Sadly, high school softball doesn't allow replay challenges, and umpires get more than a bit surly when you offer to show them the replay on the calls they got wrong. As such, we just had to bite our tongues (instead of theirs) and accept the bad calls; nevertheless, Mary's numbers were still stout enough to earn her First Team All-State honors for IHSA Class 2A (to go along with First Team All-Area and All-Conference accolades). Obviously, in such a successful season, there were many standout moments; however, one of the best came during the Regional Semifinals against Hoopeston. Mary's second at-bat was a work of art as she alternated between bunt attempts and full swings and had the Cornjerkers' third baseman moving forward and back like she was on a string. Then, after working the count full, Mary turned on an inside pitch and launched a solo home run over the right-field fence to provide the Tigers with a much-needed insurance run. Mary finished the game 3 for 4 with two RBIs, three runs scored, and three stolen bases, all of which helped Herscher to a 6-4 victory and a berth in the Regional Championship. They would go on to capture that title for the second year in a row (thanks to a 6-2 win over Bismarck-Henning) before falling to eventual state runner-up Beecher in a hard-fought 6-3 contest in the Sectional Semifinals; nevertheless, Mary's senior season was truly something special and a fitting end to one heck of an HHS softball career.
After receiving an acceptance to Cornell, we took a trip to New York to visit the campus. A few days later, Mary made it official by accepting their offer.
Mary's summer was spent working at White Castle saving as much as she could for college, playing travel softball with the Rockers organization, and preparing for her college life. We took a wonderful family trip to Florida with her softball team, where we spent our downtime playing Apples to Apples with our family + Ella, Grandma & Papa.
As summer ended, I knew the day was coming. We would need to take Mary to Cornell to begin her college experience. While I could write an entire book about the heartache of dropping off your child at college--regardless of the distance--I will just acknowledge that the void created by her absence is tempered only by the extreme pride I feel.
Mary has approached college life as she approaches most things: with equal parts caution and humility. She quickly learned that her major (chemical engineering) has a reputation on campus as being the hardest. She admits the work is challenging, but also tells us awesome stories about the experiences she is having.
Even though the softball coach told Mary that she traditionally doesn't accept Chem-E majors due to the demand of the coursework, she found a great compromise. She is playing on the Cornell Club Softball team. While I was well versed in intermural, I had no idea what college club sports were. If you are ignorant to the concept as I was, college club sports are are student-organized athletic teams that provide an opportunity for students to participate in competitive sports without the demands of varsity athletics. They are a step above recreational or intramural sports in terms of competition and commitment but less rigorous than NCAA or varsity programs. Her team had HUGE success, going 12-0.
Watching Mary grow up is one of the great joys of my life. Gene often jokes that Mary is "one lab accident away from being a super villain." Who knows where life will lead her, but it's one hell of a show.
Geno aka Euge
This kid. After receiving a full scholarship last fall to the Chicago Academy for the Arts, his life has been drastically different. His days start before 6 am, and he often doesn't return home until after 9 pm--going from one activity to the next: school, after school dance rehearsal, working out at the gym, baseball practice. His schedule is insane! He even has to report to school on Saturdays for dance repertoire. Needless to say, we spent the beginning portions of 2024 troubleshooting how to get Geno to where he needed to be.It truly took a village with a lot of help from my parents and my dear friend Deena Cassady, who drops Geno off at the Homewood train station every morning on her way to work--saving us nearly 7 hours driving time per week. Even my sister, who lives in Joliet, has helped out a few times. Everyone is so proud of Geno and is willing to help when they can to ensure he gets where he needs to be.
Despite the adjustment period, Geno's grades were stellar. He was even moved to the more advanced math class mid-year. The kids is sharp as hell. He kicks my ass at Banana Grams all the time. His vocabulary makes him sound like a middle-aged man, and he's worldly as all get-out. I have witnessed him carry on conversations with Gene about politics and current events that I had to Google afterwards to know what the heck they were talking about. And I dare you to test his memory. Go ahead. I dare you. The kid forgets nothing: song lyrics, movie lines, what was said at a random diner in 2017.
And yes, he's still our dancing fool. Here is a picture from the spring 2024 recital. He's so fun to watch!
He has become equally entertaining, and skilled, on the baseball diamond. I've said many times that for as proud as we are of Mary and all that she's accomplished on the lanes and on the diamond, we're as much or more proud of Geno's development as a baseball player. It's not because being good at baseball is that big a deal in the grand scheme of life; it's because of the tenacity and grit that he's shown throughout his career. Baseball didn't come easy to Geno in the early days, so much so that many young men his age would've called it quits and focused their time and energy elsewhere instead of facing the failure and frustration. Not Geno; instead, he stuck with it, and he's turned into a very solid player. He began the 2024 season batting low in the lineup for the Lincoln-Way Blue Demons and getting to pitch an inning here and an inning there. By the end of the season, he was batting near the top of the order - and justifiably so as he recorded one of the highest batting averages on the team. Also, he became one of the team's best pitchers. He was particularly effective during a tournament held on the campus of Wheaton St. Francis High School, where he kept the opposing team guessing to the tune of six strikeouts in just three innings of work. Sadly, the Blue Demons' defense struggled a bit, which led to more runs crossing the plate than would've otherwise been the case; nevertheless, Geno did his job, supported his teammates, and kept his head held high as he always does. Once the travel season ended, Geno hit the tryout circuit to find a team for 2024-2025, and he landed a position with 16U Xposure, which is definitely the highest level team he's ever been selected to play for. He's already excited for what lies in store, and justifiably so as it shows yet again that his hard work, dedication, and good attitude will open many doors, not just in baseball but in all walks of life.
One marked change in Geno (other than his hair doubling in length throughout the year and growing about 6 inches), is his commitment to physical fitness. He eats better, works out, and genuinely cares about his overall physical well being. This kid is impressive.
After a hectic freshman year, he was happy to enjoy a more subdued schedule during the summer. He didn't sit around though. He spent many hours working at my parent's place, helping my dad with various chores: watering trees, spreading mulch, etc. Tom Schafer, Inc. paid him handsomely for his work, allowing him to save up some money for future endeavors. In addition, he started Driver's Ed at Top Driver in Bourbonnais, where he continues to go every Sunday from 1-3 because Geno needed 1 more thing on his schedule.
He attended three summer dance camps to keep his skills sharp. Here he is at the end of camp showcase for the Giordano Dance in Chicago.
Geno is now nearing the completion of his first semester as a sophomore at the Academy, where he especially enjoys his Spanish and history classes, not so much algebra. Gene can't wait for him to get his license, so he can quit his part time job as Geno's personal valet service. But to paraphrase Tracie Adkins, I am sure we're "gonna miss this."
PSA: If you have growing children, don't subject yourself to this song as it's only purpose is to make you sad. I would also steer clear from "Next Thing You Know" by Jordan Davis and "I Loved Her First" by Heartland as these songs are designed to torture parents and should be avoided.
In a less serious note, Geno is charming and funny. He loves writing his own cheesy jokes and springing them on me when I least expect it. Very few people can get me to belly laugh like Geno. To top off the list, he is one of the best listeners I have ever met. If you don't like Geno, there's seriously something wrong with you.
