An ode to Titus

 Titus (aka Mighty) at 17 years old  

This kid gets very little air time, which is unfortunate, because he is a dream to parent. He has never had a hard phase. Titus has always been easy, agreeable, cooperative, and mature. He is sensitive and emotional (especially for a guy) and his only real conflict in the family comes from interactions with a brother who is the emotional opposite. 

Technically this is his senior year of highschool, but he is going to do a 5th year and graduate next year. He’s still going back and forth about what he wants to do for college/career and if he stays in high school an extra year he can take dual credit gen ed classes and get college credits for free/way cheap. Adding another year has allowed him to take a lighter course load which always helps with his dyslexia and also allows him to work 20-30 hours a week. The kid is banking some good money and saving up for a car, plus he just opened his own investment account! He doesn’t mind delaying graduation because his girlfriend (of six months) is younger and also because now he gets to graduate with one of his best friends who is a year behind him. 

[For the Jones family that means starting in 2025 we will have a kid graduate every single year -one after the other- until Naomi finishes in 2031, only skipping the year 2028. 😳]

But back to Titus. For a long time he wanted to be a Park Ranger and is now thinking about Video Game Story writing, which is one of those careers that makes me feel old because I just think, “People can make a living off that?” - but he loves playing DND and coming up with all the backstories and plot twists for the game. Every month or so he organizes his friends together to come and play at the house. It’s a quirky bunch and I love it so much. He clears the date with me, takes off work in advance, organizes all his friends, orders and pays for the pizza, and hosts the whole night. I cannot over exaggerate how happy his initiation and independence make me. I spend a chunk of my emotional and mental energy every day being the frontal lobe for so many people in this house- so Titus’ independent planning and organizing is a reprieve. 

Other things about Titus: His best brother is Seth. They share a room right now, but have always been close. It’s hilarious to hear them working through roommate conflicts. Titus is moving out to the RV in January (since it’s technically his senior year.) He is so excited and has already saved up and bought his own Xbox and Tv. (#Priorities) His pug, Waddles, will be moving out to the RV with him, and Titus has been taking him out there every once in a while to help get Waddles “adjusted.” And he is 100% serious about it. 😂😂 It’s going to be a disaster and Waddles is a moron and I wish Titus would spend his efforts making sure the dog is better house trained, but I guess it can’t be any smellier than when Levi lived out there with a rabbit. 

Titus loves anime, funny animal memes, self-deprecating humor, and subsists on mostly left over queso from work. His favorite way to cook and eat eggs is to burn them, he’ll deny they are burned, but the smell throughout the house would say otherwise. 😂

He cares zero percent about fashion, shoes, or sports. For prom last year, he wore his short sleeve Chick-fila uniform shirt under a suit jacket that he found at Goodwill. He uses some teen language like “bruh, bet, or sus,” but not words like “baddie” or “fit.” 

He’s an old soul, a family guy, and will definitely take care of me when I’m old and frail. He’s tall and handsome with super cute dimples, and puppy dog eyes topped with killer eyebrows. He could have serious charisma if he even cared about such a thing- but he doesn’t even care about keeping his teenage acne at bay. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 I can’t wait to watch him through these next seasons of life. He is not your typical “guys guy” and never has been. Sometimes he is underestimated because he is so not what you imagine for a 17 year old boy, but he always surprises us with what he can accomplish. We love his tender heart, his loyalty, his grateful attitude, his humility, and his humor. 

We hit the jackpot with him, seriously, like the mega millions jack pot.