Graduation Night
By Wyatt Earp | May 28, 2009
Erik (center) and his girlfriends (left to right) Michelle, Jessica, and Sarah.
Last night was Erik’s graduation ceremony from his Pre-K School. It was held at the local Knights of Columbus Hall, and the missus and I were in attendance. Erik, to his complete joy, got to sit next to his “girlfriends” Michelle, Jessica, and Sarah. (Jess and Sarah are twins.) When I asked which one of the girls was his actual girlfriend, he immediately said, “All of them.” That’s my boy!
The teachers had the kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance - with “Under God,” thankfully - sing a few songs, and received their “diplomas.” In the middle of the night, the teacher (Mr. Ed) interviewed each child. Here he is with Erik:
Right after this, Mr. Ed asked Erik what he wanted to be when he grew up:
In case you couldn’t make it out, Erik wants to be a NASCAR driver. Suh-weet!
The night went very well, and we all had a great time. My mom watched Kevin and Julia. Kyle? Well, I wanted to address the Kyle issue for my blog friend.
A week or so ago, Doghouse had a post about his children. His son had a baseball game one day, while his daughter had a class outing. His wife took the daughter to the outing, his son’s coach took his son to the ballgame. He had to work late.
The son’s team won its first game that night, and Doghouse was obviously upset that he couldn’t see it. I understand completely. Why? Because the same thing happened to us last night. The wife and I were attending Erik’s graduation, but Kyle had a soccer game. His coach took him and brought him home, but even though I had the night off, I couldn’t make it because of Erik’s great day.
It happened to be Kyle’s first-ever game as the team’s new goaltender.
Kyle’s team had been laying goalie-by-committee for almost a year now. The coach wanted to groom someone to play the position on a steady basis, and Kyle - already a goalie on his street hockey team - agreed. I bought him goaltender gloves and we practiced out back for days.
So, Kyle went to his game, and when we came home from the party, he was grinning. “How did you do?,” I asked.
“Dad, I played in goal for the whole game, and we tied, 1-1. I made a bunch of saves and Coach Dave said I played really well.”
And there it is. Anyone who has been blessed with two or more children - especially active ones - knows this dilemma. We cannot be always be there for our kids all the time. Sometimes, life intervenes. It sucks, but there is usually not much you can do, save for quit your job.
The trick, from my experience, is to make as many events as you can, and get the information from the ones you missed by talking with your child. Because when it comes down to it, we all have important things in our lives . . . and every one of them pales in comparison to the tea parties, soccer games, and school graduations.
Do what you can for them. The rest will take care of itself.
Topics: The Boys |
May 28th, 2009 at 3:27 am
“Do what you can for them. The rest will take care of itself”
There speaks wisdom!
Since you asked, I can give you a bit of wisdom too. Children want approval and acceptance. They will push boundaries to see your reaction. To see if you mean what you say. To see if you care and you love them.
They will also seek that from their peers and peer pressure is only a step away from gangs.
As Wyatt is totally aware, children need that from their parents but it can be topped up in other ways:
1) Sport, especially although not exclusively team sport with good coaches.
2) Music
3) Pets
We used a mix of the three with our 3 children. It seemed to work. The peer acceptance becomes less necessary to a child’s life. The peers associated with the activities also tend to be different and more positive.
(Sorry to sound preachy.)
May 28th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Loved Mr Ed kneeling to talk to each of the children!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Man, I feel for you, but you did what you had to do. I’m glad he had such a good game though.
And I love the “yeah, I’m workin’ it” look on Erik’s face as he sits by his harem!
May 28th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Congratulatations, Kyle!
May 28th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
The look on Erik’s face is so you. HA!
You and Mrs. Earp have been greatly blessed, and I am glad you take that blessing so seriously. You both are doing a wonderful job with the kids.
Kudos to Kyle!
Way to go, kiddo.
So, are you going to take Erik to the dirt tracks, soon? There is one in NJ.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Alan B - It’s a good mix there. Lots of ways to keep them on the straight and narrow. And yes, Mr. Ed was terrific.
Doghouse - He almost looks bored, like, “Yeah, chicks dig me.”
Daisy - And Erik. Don’t forget Erik.
RT - Yeah, he and I just LOVE having our pictures taken. /snark.