While I am excited for the educational growth they are experiencing, the selfish part of me wishes that this would never end. Jacob is starting high school, Jayce is beginning his middle school career, and Justin is excited to see his friends he has not seen since June.
One thing is for sure, they are most certainly growing up, no matter what I try to do to stop it. Shopping for new backpacks, I was looking at the superman, batman, and all other super hero backpacks. I was quickly informed that my youngest son is "too old" for those kid backpacks, and he needed something a bit more "sophisticated".
I also came to the realization that my boys are growing up to be just like their father. Oh boy! We sat back at the department stores gazing upon the mothers who had an entire caravan of screaming kindergartners, first graders, and even preschoolers. We were all engaged in the entertainment value of watching these poor souls try with all their might to not lose total control in front of a large public crowd. Jayce and I reminisced about the day that he remembers quite well. A day that I matched his behavior in the middle of an extremely crowded Northtown Mall in Spokane so many years ago. He was 3, and we were Christmas shopping out of town. After an hour in the store that had a Thomas the Train playset in the window, we were ready to move on. He disagreed. He displayed his defiance by lying on the floor and screaming, an act that I had not seen from him before. As the crowd started to gather, I did not know what to do, so I joined him, screaming and kicking expressing my desire to head to the food court for a pretzel. The reaction I received from him was priceless. Immediately he returned to his feet and started pleading with me to do the same. The crowd's reaction was mixed. Laughter, unbelief, and a few "well, I nevers". This was the last time he attempted this particular method of manipulation. The story, however, had lasting effects. My youngest son was told this tale, and he never attempted, for fear he would also be the target of public embarrassment. Watching the crusade of school shopping this afternoon, I wondered how funny it would be if all parents reacted this way. In fact, I still do it. All three of my children understand that if they begin misbehaving in any public setting, I take this as a cry that they lack the attention they desire, and I WILL start hugging them, kissing their foreheads, and cradle them in my arms right in front of everybody until they feel well enough that they can behave the way they are supposed to. So far, a pretty effective threat.
On another note, I am beginning to learn to play the harmonica. This is to keep me busy until I purchase a piano, and finally realize my life-long dream of learning to play the piano. I have always been part of a musical family. If we were not singing, we were learning to play an instrument. All of my brothers and sisters were in band in one way or another, and my kid sister has decided to make music her life and is finishing her degree in college. Other than Guitar Hero, on the Xbox, or singing karaoke, I have not been a very musical person for quite sometime. Sure, when we are camping, we all like to sing, but I always wanted an instrument that I can play in just such a situation. I mastered the jazz trombone, but I do not want to play that around the campfire. The other day, Dawn found some new music for her harmonica, which she plays quite well! Eureka, this is the instrument I have been trying to think of, so I have been in the basement guest room practicing quite a bit this weekend. It is a lot of fun!
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