Well, he did it. I so hoped he wouldn't, but Jack went and turned 11 today! Little scrumper. Can't. Even. Believe. It. To be sure tho, he's 11 and not a day more b/c the other day he was overhead bellowing from the shower, "Hey Dad, I can make armpit farts with a bar of soap!" Yup, that's my boy!! He's always asking if he can have a biiiig sleepover for his bday, and tonight he got his wish. The entire 5th grade class had a sleepover at his school. It's a tradition that the PTA organizes. There's teambuilding exercises, crazy line dances (chicken dance, et al), scrapbooking, coffeecake making (for breakfast), pizza, slient reading, flashlight reading, group storytelling and finally sleep!! I love to "people watch" my own kid in his natural habitat so I was excited to chaperone (until I get around other kids...).
Like all parents who have wishes for their buggers, we have some, too. One of them is to be mindful of the "shoulds" and "oughts" of the world b/c they make it very challenging to be your own person. My wish for myself is to raise a child who is innately happy and secure enough to always do the right thing even when nobody's looking. And that kind of contradicts the former, but only in an altruistic sense - which is totally okay with me. Tonight, another mother chaperoning told me what a nice kid Jack is. She said her daughter's big 3-ring binder fell and papers spewed out all over the steps - and Jack was the ONLY kid who stopped to help her. All the others just walked on by...again, that's my boy! I think our wishes are coming true.
And now the day that started at 4 a.m. with the making of a banana cream pie (from this recipe) so Jack could blowout candles at breakfast has come to an end. I am sooo tired but cannot sleep. I thought I would start a fabric design while I have my celebratory beer - and this is all that came out. Night night.
