Another Saturday, another 10 hours of running from and after and around my children. And by the end I was eight kinds of bushed. Robert began the day as he usually does by reporting for duty, in full dress uniform, at 7am. The rain had stopped, so as far as he was concerned we were burnin' daylight, people! There are grounders to gather! Fences to scale! Bases to round! Mud to inhale!
We got to the field--a pastoral patch wedged between the FDR and a power plant thought up by Brazil's production designer--well before we needed to, but Robert had to check the field for wet spots and supervise the laying down of chalk lines. He played his three innings, then he played another inning with a shorthanded team, then he found his buddies and played tag, and pepper, and something to do with lasers on the handball court.
At 3 I had to drag him away from all this in order to get lunch and help set up TwoBert's third birthday party. Cupcakes and cavorting in the playground. No fuss, minimal muss. At his request, the birthday boy was appointed lead photographer, and now my Elph is coated with a fine patina of strawberry icing. (Another choice by the honoree; the kid just can't get enough Red 40.)
As we were walking home, Robert and I got to talking about school. His first year is winding down, and I was curious what his impressions were. Then I asked him: "If you could choose five things to study in school, what would they be?" The answers were:
- Nature.
- How to build a car engine.
- Hunting animals. ("Wait, you mean like, 'hunting'? With a gun?" "No, Dad, animals that hunt. With their fangs.")
- Why water is wet.
- The planets, especially Earth and Jupiter.
I'm especially eager to see how #4 breaks out.
