When I started this blog Michael had just turned 1 and Marcus wasn't even 3 yet. It was quite easy to find snippets of life that were easily bloggable. I'm finding it a lot harder now, I have to say. Perhaps its simply that parenting is all-consuming at that stage - I certainly don't think I was reading a lot of books, for instance. You almost have
nothing else to write about.
If I spent all my time now writing down what Michael said and did, it would make a very entertaining blog. But there is just too much of it. He never stops generating ideas, drawings, new games, dances, songs - (except when he is watching TV, when he is as creative and outgoing as a barnacle). He loves to entertain an audience, and I feel like when he grows up entertaining will be a big part of his life.
My memory is failing me a lot lately, and although I want the blog to be interesting, I can't quite bring myself to carry around a notebook and record juicy bits in shorthand. And I am not really a Twitter type, packing the right technology 24/7 to comment LIVE.
Marcus is a more serious kid, like I was. He is extremely focused and intense when he is involved in something. He kicked four goals at the soccer match yesterday, and the look on his face after each one was kind of frightening. He is going to be a very fine soccer player, and his intensity could be the thing that separates him from equally talented ball players. But on display in the under sevens it's pretty unnerving.
He was getting grabbed and roughed up by a couple of the other team, and retaliated with his elbows. When he was subbed off for a break I spoke to him about it, and he was very emotional but buckled down and was in control again by the time he had to go back on. At one stage he kicked the ball accidentally straight into the face of one of the culprits. I was highly impressed that he straight away went over and checked he was alright, and hung around concerned until the kid got his composure back. He played really, really well, and despite losing it on the sidelines on balance he had a good day.
The iPod is a huge hit. It has three games on it (we did NOT know that when we bought it as a relaxation tool), and Marcus has spent most of his time playing with those so far. I am sure he'll get sick of them pretty soon. He has about thirty songs on it, and I have used it to introduce him to some old faves of mine like The Muttonbirds and Crowded House.
Scrolling through my iTunes at work trying to find calming music is an interesting experience. I've got 3 or 4 thousand songs and podcasts, but picking something for the seven-year-old audience is tricky. I will try to get some audiobooks perhaps. Any suggestions?
