Gone were the days where I organised children birthday parties. I now have a pre-teen. The first time, I throw such a birthday party with no prior experience. Challenging, is the word.
Last Sunday, I had 14 boys (scream..........) in my house...and a girl who could play with them!
Boys being boys, they are boisterious, playful but so full of life. Gregarious creatures, I will call them. The thing about pre-teen birthday party is that I don't have to plan activities for them, somehow, they just make do with whatever they could find. My house was turned into a basket ball court, a hide-and-seek ground and of course a Wii arcade. But you know something, they are very polite and well-mannered. A group of very fine young men. How children behave speaks alot about the kind of parenting they received. They took out toys to play and put them back where they belonged. They cleared up after eating and drinking. That made my job so much easier as I was without a helper only dh was around to maintain "law and order".
I want to be part of his life. As he grows up to be a teenager, a young adult, all the more I need to know his circle of friends and I hope to be part of his circle of friends.
The gregarious boys and a girl
Feeding a group of pre-teens...cooking started early in the morning right after breakfast
Naruto cupcakes for the birthday boy. His favourite Japanese cartoon character. No, I didn't make them cos' if I do, I wouldn't be blogging now
Kai, our miracle no.1 wasn't a very easy baby. He was a crying baby, a colicky baby, a sick baby. He was basically very difficult to look after as an infant. You won't believe this, he would only sleep well on our chest. Perhaps, that gave him security and comfort. All those days are over now, he has grown up to be a great boy. Of course, along the way, there were mountains to scale, rivers to cross but I can see that he has matured in many ways and some important lessons were learned through the hard ways.
My miracle, then and now...
Isn't he a fine young man
His two little accomplishments along the way...
His first pottery exhibition at age 7
Self-published author at age 8
There is one thing which hasn't changed all these years...Kai's love for books. He was and is still an avid reader. I can take away his electronic gadgets, he will survive but if I take away his books, it will throw him into a fits. Looking back and recalling the past, I found out that Kai started reading Classics such as The Invisible Man and Frankenstein at a tender age of four.
There are books all over the house and I have given up picking them up. It is really pointless. His English teacher is right to say that a reader is never stagnating. Walt Disney was right when he said, "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."
The greatest gift is the passion for reading.
It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites,
it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.
It is a moral illumination. ~ Elizabeth Hardwick
Yes, and I have to keep up with my own reading too if I want to engage in his intellectual sparrings.
So, to more good years, my son...CHEERS!
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