Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Busy With Kids (and some work)
For the past week and a half I've been way too busy with my real life. My oldest son is starting college at the University of Cincinnati. His first day of classes is tomorrow. He's quite excited and enthusiastic. I just hope he continues to be so.
Since I work 10 minutes or less from U.C., I can occasionally meet him for lunch or dinner after work. I like being close, just in case.
Last week I had one of those days that parents love. My 11 year old daughter's school had parent/teacher conferences. I talked with 5 of her 6 teachers. My daughter has straight A's. Even better, every teacher included the word "wonderful" to describe my daughter in their first sentence.
She also played starting center in a basketball tournament over the weekend. Her team won third place. At this point she is a defensive and rebounding standout but needs to improve her scoring. I'm sure that will come and there's no need to make a big issue of it.
My other son, who started high school this year, is an outstanding lineman on a 3-0 freshman football team. He's gotten to play some JV ball also. He works hard at it and deserves what he's earned. People have whispered hopes that his class will be the nucleus of a state championship in a couple of years. From what I've seen, this may come true.
The freshman quarterback is already a better passer than the starting varsity quarterback. The freshman also have a solid running back and a couple of good receivers. The real surprise so far this year is the place kicker/kick returner.
Yes, the same kid does both. I've seen him put kick offs in the end zone from his own 40 yard line. He hits extra points better than the varsity kicker. (A couple of times he's kicked in place of the varsity kicker.) And, his kick returning is stellar. He has one return for a touchdown in a varsity game. He's had others that were called back due to penalties. He's amazingly fast for a 14 year old.
I don't claim much credit for my kids' performance. A cornerstone of my parenting philosophy is don't mess them up. I expect good grades but they make better grades than I expect. I want them to play sports but they play more and perform better than I could have reasonably hoped. I give them encouragement, praise and modest rewards. And, I try to help them live their dreams, not mine.
But, my kids have enriched my life and taught me more than I could ever enrich theirs or teach them. For that, I am eternally grateful.
Since I work 10 minutes or less from U.C., I can occasionally meet him for lunch or dinner after work. I like being close, just in case.
Last week I had one of those days that parents love. My 11 year old daughter's school had parent/teacher conferences. I talked with 5 of her 6 teachers. My daughter has straight A's. Even better, every teacher included the word "wonderful" to describe my daughter in their first sentence.
She also played starting center in a basketball tournament over the weekend. Her team won third place. At this point she is a defensive and rebounding standout but needs to improve her scoring. I'm sure that will come and there's no need to make a big issue of it.
My other son, who started high school this year, is an outstanding lineman on a 3-0 freshman football team. He's gotten to play some JV ball also. He works hard at it and deserves what he's earned. People have whispered hopes that his class will be the nucleus of a state championship in a couple of years. From what I've seen, this may come true.
The freshman quarterback is already a better passer than the starting varsity quarterback. The freshman also have a solid running back and a couple of good receivers. The real surprise so far this year is the place kicker/kick returner.
Yes, the same kid does both. I've seen him put kick offs in the end zone from his own 40 yard line. He hits extra points better than the varsity kicker. (A couple of times he's kicked in place of the varsity kicker.) And, his kick returning is stellar. He has one return for a touchdown in a varsity game. He's had others that were called back due to penalties. He's amazingly fast for a 14 year old.
I don't claim much credit for my kids' performance. A cornerstone of my parenting philosophy is don't mess them up. I expect good grades but they make better grades than I expect. I want them to play sports but they play more and perform better than I could have reasonably hoped. I give them encouragement, praise and modest rewards. And, I try to help them live their dreams, not mine.
But, my kids have enriched my life and taught me more than I could ever enrich theirs or teach them. For that, I am eternally grateful.
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