On the 21st of March, our little pink thing became a little less little, though certainly no less pink when she turned seven years old.
Bubbly and happy, she continues to exude confidence almost everywhere she goes whilst occasionally slipping into squealy, scared little girl mode, more often than not just for an excuse to get Daddy’s attention I am sure. She was very excited for her birthday, as is more than appropriate for someone turning a massive seven years old. She was especially happy about the party that we held for her with a host (or perhaps more accurately a gaggle) of kids from school. two boys were ‘fortunate’ enough to make the invite list, the first of whom was greatly relieved to be invited into the basement with Emily’s brothers as the girls went crazy around her.
Two moments stand out in my mind from the day, the part where she was opening her presents, seated on the couch, the entire party population crowded around her like petitioners about a court princess.
The second moment occurred when it was time for the pinata. We’ve been through any number of pinata’s over the time that our kids have had birthdays, home made, store bought, but regardless of the origins, they’ve all gone down the same way ... gradually bludgeoned to death by small beings wielding a long blunt object with varying degrees of proficiency.
But for some reason this one was supposed to be different. Not that I had a clue. I did the usual thing, hung it up, lined up the kids and gave them the blunt object. Emily protested loudly but I insisted that this was exactly how it worked and away we went. Each time Emily came up, she took the stick with a dark look and an overly angry and enthusiastic swing. When the candy finally fell, she stormed off with tears in her eyes.
Apparently this was a ‘special’ pinata and everyone was supposed to hold one of the streamers and pull it and that would make the candy fall ... except for the fact that I don’t remember seeing anything about that anywhere on it. She cheered up again soon enough.
One of the big differences that we’re seeing this year is the fact that Emily is learning to write and that she’s more than happy to share her new-found knowledge and skills with us. Its not unusual to find a little note outside the door or scattered about the floor letting us know that the little pink thing does indeed love her Mum and Dad. Of course, with the skills, one doesn’t necessarily develop the filter that social norms might otherwise give us and so we’ve also been known to find amongst the literary marvels the occasional note that says something as blunt as “I hate you”. Of course, that only happens when she doesn’t get her own way!
So at seven, the opinions are stated firmly and loudly, the smiles plentiful, hugs large and genuine, and the mood swings gradually coming along to show us those potentially horrifying glimpses of the future with a teenager!
Which of course leads us to the other momentus occasion that was as recent as yesterday. Michael turned 13, and so we do, in fact have a teenager in the house.
The biggest thing for us with Michael turning 13 this year was as simple as finding something to give him. With departure from Canada on the horizon (even if further than we’d like) it rules out a lot of electronic options as we are better off waiting until we’re back in the land of 240v (even if its more expensive) and we don’t really want to clutter up the house with crap any more than we’ve already managed to. In the end, he decided the he’d really like some roller blades so that along with a few books to read seems to have done the trick.
Michael continues to succeed at school, though I think somewhat reminiscent of another family member, might struggle with some of the more mundane aspects of the schooling. With the age gap to most of the people in his class, he’s struggled to click with a lot of his peers and seems to view them mostly as more trouble than they’re worth. He’s continued to enjoy to read, devouring my bookshelf at a rate that simply blows my mind. Nothing like buying him a book so that he’ll have something to read for the last couple of days of a holiday and seeing him finish it before we even get to the part where we’re traveling home again. Of course, it’s hard to complain when your teenager gets excited about a book shop.
We’re definitely seeing the emotions run hot and cold as Michael embarks on this next stage of life’s journey and I can hardly wait until the communication drops off to grunts and groans! He continues to enjoy his soccer, having been one of the key players in his indoor team.
Summer will be interesting when having just turned 13 he will have to play in a combined U14/16 team. Some of the older kids that I saw playing after the U14 games during the winter were taller than I am. At least the better U16 players will be playing in the men’s league where I’ll have to try and out run (not likely) or out push (highly likely) them. I’m also hoping that he gets a decent coach as I believe that he’d benefit from being coached by someone other than his father (maybe he’d listen a little more and offer a few less opinions).
Regardless of how it turns out, he’s a kid that its easy to be proud of and I hope that he keeps going down the right track ... even if he does need a bloody hair cut.
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