Yes, once again, I’ve thought long and hard about birthday
posts for the kids and have managed to run much later than ever intended before
putting thoughts to print. I decided that I should actually pull my finger out
and get around to it though.
Emily
Back in late March, Emily made double figures. The baby of the family has actually made it to ten (Did we ever doubt it? Well maybe a little or perhaps it was her parent’s hair that was more at risk of being torn out).
What can one say about Emily at 10? Part of the reason it took so long to write this relates to how I answer that question on any given day based, which is very behaviourally influenced. Emily oscillates between being tired, grumpy and miserable and sweet as pie, between being responsible and caring and devious and deceptive. She is a living dichotomy.
She is definitely Daddy’s girl. There are things that I can ask her to do that she’ll happily jump up and do whilst if her Mother was to ask there would be hell to pay with appropriate yelling and screaming.
Emily has decided that she’s musically inclined. I
deliberately say inclined rather than gifted because I think at this stage
there’s more desire than natural talent. Hell with a father that couldn’t tune
a guitar even after learning it for 6 years I’m blaming the genetics, not
pointing fingers. Of course there’s always the chance that she managed to
swindle a few genes from Nanny! For the last 2 years she has been learning the
violin and this year had to add a wind instrument to the repertoire ( she could
have dropped the violin but wanted to keep going). We tried to suggest that the
trombone would be fun (after all, there was already one in the house and so we
wouldn’t have to buy anything else) but she decided that the flute was more in
line with what she’d like to play (Yes, she’s 10 - American Pie references are
not required).
It would appear that Emily actually has something of a talent for the flute, being well progressed in comparison to her peers and more amazingly, actually inclined to practice of her own free will. She even managed to teach herself hot cross buns. I can’t say that I’m expecting her in the Symphony anytime soon, but it’s pleasant to see her enjoying it, even if her brothers (particularly Sam) try and tell her to stop or go somewhere where they can’t hear every time that she picks it up.
Emily loves he netball and is very excited to be playing
twice a week this winter. She’s played softball through the summer and done
well, but netball appears to be the sport of choice (much to her mother’s
disgust). It will be interesting to see how long it is before Caroline tries to
steer her more pointedly to the hockey pitch.
She is a budding fashionista , though I’m not sure based on some of the shopping ventures I’ve been involved with whether she actually has the taste for it and I know for a fact that I don’t have the wallet to support any sort of fashion habit of note. Despite (or in spite of) growing up with three older brothers that like to put her in her place and that have surrounded her with Minecraft, Call of Duty and the like, she loves nothing more than to have a girlfriend over and indulge in make overs (though like many girls her age, needs to truly learn that less is more when it comes to the make up).
On the obstinate and sneaky side, she can be a little
Of course, when Emily decides to turn on the charm, it can be simply amazing as to how nice she can be. There are many moments when that charm is truly genuine (usually when she’s well rested and happy) and on those occasions you can find yourself smothered in hugs and cuddles and enjoying every moment and wondering if you really had wanted to throttle her just five minutes ago.
All in all, Emily is a challenging little bundle of delight
and we love her to bits.
Michael.
At the other end of the spectrum that is our brood is Michael. He has just turned 16 and that’s even scarier than the fact that the youngest has just hit double figures.
Over the last year he has of course continued to grow and
has managed to top my height. He’s matured and is much more the young man than
the boy compared to where he was 12 months ago. He’s in the last month or so of
his journey with braces and that will no doubt add to the change and maturity
of is look.
Over the summer Michael didn’t really get into much organised sport, though he did compete in some cross-country events and even ran the city to bay with me. It’s always nice to be reminded of one’s aging body by having your son run on virtually no training and smash your time.
This year Michael decided that he’d play club soccer over
the winter in addition to the school soccer that he played last year (and is
playing again this year). We were very happy and the fact that he’s gone out to
the same club that Thomas plays for at least adds some small measure of
convenience (even if it meant kissing goodbye to another couple of hours every
Sunday). It’s been great to see him developing his skills and approach to the
game though and I really pleased that he’s decided to do it (especially because
we didn’t have to force him).
It’s meant that if nothing else, there’s a couple more hours of the week where he’s outside and we don’t have to try and disengage him from his computer.
The most likely place you’re ever going to find Michael if you call past our house is in his room, sitting on the bed with the lap top out, the sounds of frenzied mouse-clicking permeating the air like a single-note staccato symphony. He and his friends have become absorbed into an online game (League of Legends) and so that’s there way of socialising – across the internet.
With the amount of time that he spends doing that, there was an element of despair about with regards to him ever meeting someone from that ‘other sex’ that the human race apparently has, but perhaps I needn't worry. That's all I am allowed to say.
School wise, Michael is tackling the IB programme, which I am well pleased about. He seems to be performing well so far for the year and so hopefully stays on that track.
He’s not often a trouble maker and so I guess we have to offset some of the frustration with the amount of time spent hibernating (he’s a tad difficult to get out of bed at times) and playing computer games with thanks for his generally good nature.
And of course at 16, we embark on another new chapter – driving. I think I might leave that for a more detailed discussion at some other point, but suffice to say that he has his L’s and so far hasn’t crashed a car!
We have many reasons to be proud of Michael and are thankful that he is who he is.
