Skip ahead to high school

 

Is he still gorgeous?  Empirically, yes. 
Is he as sweet?  Definitely. 
Is he my boy?  No doubt. 
Is he a little boy?  Um, no.

Hello, high school.  Get ready!

I remember writing him a letter for kindergarten.  I told him to fly and knew he would do wonderful things, and I can't say I felt differently then than I do now about his going to high school in a few days.  I love him so that sometimes it takes my breath.  I could still watch him for hours and never tire, and if it's possible, I think I enjoy being in his company even more now.  People are biased about their kids, but this one truly is special.  He's wise, he's hilarious, he's quick as lightning (mentally and on the ice), but more than that he's kind, thoughtful, a really good friend.  Just wow.  Far ahead of where I was at 14.

In between, we've had adventures and tears.  2016 was a year in which we lost way too many people, starting with my dad.  He's had four broken arms, enough that the doctors pulled us and him aside to make sure he is safe at home, and a fractured spine.  His main focus, more and more, is hockey, but he recently had a piano recital that included a Chopin waltz on my dad's piano that would've made him cry happy tears.  I'm proud to be his mom every day.  

I am dreading his getting his license.  Right now I have all to myself in the car a lot.  A.  LOT.  We listen to music I love, music he loves, we ridicule Ringo Starr ("Is he the best drummer in the world?"  "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles." -John Lennon), we talk about everything.  It's glorious.  We have all sorts of jokes together and laugh often.  I feel like he sees me and I see him.  The thought of losing that is unbearable, but better to have loved and lost....

So fly, little man.  Be the human you are meant to be, and share your gorgeous.  Entrance those who meet you and learn a thing or two along the way.  Work hard.  Achieve.  Pick your battles.  Decide what's important to you and put that first, whatever it is.  Stand up for what you know is right.  

And keep snuggling with your mama here and there.

Good morning

Good morning.  It's 7:00, and I've been up since 4:00.  Why?  I'm in India this morning.

I've been horrid at keeping up wonderful stories for you, Aidan, during this last year; it's been a bit of a doozie.  But better starting now than never, right?  I thought that, when you're bigger, you might like to hear more about this trip first-hand.  As we saw on the globe in Audrey's class last week, I'm on the other side of the word.  Amazizng.

The plane flight was kind of fun; hopefully someday, if you fly this far away, you'll be able to fly first class too.  I don't know whether you remember, but you really, really wanted to come here with me, which would have been so fun.  I'm here for work, though, and I couldn't bring you.  Part of the reason for that is that the plane ticket alone is $10,000, which is a lot of money.  The pod on the plane had my own TV screen, where I could watch movies or TV shows, and my own ear phones.  They served all kinds of food while we flew, even an ice cream sundae bar.  I'm trying to eat as much local food as I can, so I had the Indian dishes, and they were good!  I slept some on the plane, which is good because I couldn't sleep very much last night.  It's 7:00 in the morning here, but 9:30 at night at home where you're dreaming away.  How crazy is that?  I missed 9 1/2 hours of coming this way, but I'll get it back when I fly home Friday night.

The taxi ride from the airport was fun - there really wasn't much traffic, so I wasn't very nervous, but the driving is very different here.  At home we drive in our own lanes and give others plenty of room.  Here, they just drive wherever they want without worrying about where lines on the road might be.  They do seem to notice traffic lights, but it's pretty different driving around.

I have to be careful not to drink water here, because their water can make Americans sick.  As you know, I also had to get some special shots before I left, and I have to take some special medicine while I'm here so I can stay healthy.  I only drink water from bottles, even just for brushing my teeth, and I can only eat fruit that I can peel, like oranges or bananas, not apples that have been washed in the water here. 

The people here have been very friendly so far, and many of them speak English, which makes traveling here easier.  Even most of the street signs are in English.  That surprised me - does it surprise you?

Because the team here is supporting us at home, they work different hours than we do, so I'm not going in to the office until 4:00 this afternoon, when I'm usually starting to think about how long it will be until I can get home and see you!  But the 4:00 in the afternoon here will be 6:30 this morning at home, and they want to overlap with us.  The good part of this is that it will let me see some of the sights here during the day.  I think tonight I'll be extra tired because I couldn't sleep last night, but we'll see what I can do.  I'll tell you about it when I get back.

Wish you and Daddy were here with me, but this is the next best thing - I'll take lots of pictures to share with you, too, when I get home.

A prayer from Aidan

"Dear God,
I love you.
Please, could I have a different dream tonight?  Not one with Sasquach or something like that.  I think that dream you've been giving me is more for an eight-year-old, not a five-and-a-half-year-old.  Could I have a dream more for someone my age?  Like, maybe a playdate with Phillip?
Thank you, God.
I love you.
Amen."

I don't think he's alone

The other day, as we were driving to school (which ride is host to some of our best conversations) I could tell Aidan was pondering something.  He said to me, "Mommy, why do girls have to wear a shirt when they go out in public?"  Now, I know he knows why.  The reason I know he knows is that we've had that same conversation numerous times - he's been periodically curious about it, wanting to learn the rules and starting to want his own privacy.  I said, "You know why, Aidan."

"(sigh) Yes, Mommy.  (sigh)  I wish they weren't private."

you'd think I'd have learned by now....

This last week we were on vaca (fantastic) in Cabo (also fantastic), and we learned once again the lesson that it's really easy to underestimate what he's capable of. It's a recurring theme - I remember being surprised when he was eating at the table with silverware in the infant room at daycare, and I'm still having to learn. Anyway, we found out several grown-up things he can do while we were gone. Body surfing for one, but also he knows already how to play rummy? I knew he was ready for and plays card games like concentration, war, go fish, crazy 8s but rummy? That's a pretty tough game. No problem, though - he gets it. (He hadn't told us he knows how to play because he didn't know we knew how.)

He's also teaching himself chess, and I've finally convinced him the name of the game isn't "chest."  I thought it best that he doesn't run around asking friends to play chest with him.  Anyhoo, I don't know how to play - my Nook came with a free Chess application.  I had to look up on Wikipedia how the pieces move, so he's got that now, and he plays the computer.  He's getting into it - I'll hear him say, "I'm getting out my nasty queen!" in an excited and menacing voice.  I sense a Christmas present (and some chess lessons for Mommy!)

"I'm a gentleman"

We were sitting at dinner at a local restaurant and got flavored water to drink.  He grabbed my glass and the water and said, as though to himself, "I'm a gentleman and I pour for ladies."  Where it came from, I have no idea.  My boy was chivalrous.  Awesome!

Uma has it

Aidan has a love for music.  He sings all the time and has taken to whistling lately, which I enjoy immensely.  I mean, unhappy children don't burst into song (he's not singing, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" or anything), so I take it as a good sign.  This morning I dropped him off at kgarten, and I saw him strolling down the sidewalk, carrying his backpack, whistling.  Cool.

All this to say that he knows quite a bit of pop music.  We listen to it in the car a lot (he knows his favorite stations by call number and will request them).  I should say, he "knows" quite a bit of pop music. 

He loves Adele.  We've had a running discussion about her song, Rumor Has It.  He loves the song, but insists it's Uma Has It, even before he knew that Uma was a name.  I've asked what on earth that means, but it doesn't matter.  He's convinced.  The song comes on, and he'll say, "Mommy, speak it up so you can hear it's Uma."  It's be on another day, and he'll say something like, "See-some people think it's Rumor, but Phillip [his buddy] and I know it's Uma."  Another time, even that Phillip's (older) brother had told them it's Rumor, but he and Phillip talked, and they decided it's definitely Uma.  They will not be swayed.  It's been months - several months - he is certain.  How great is that sort of determination?  I'm hoping this means that he won't fall to peer pressure as he grows.

In fact, that's a reasonable hope, as I think about it.  My brother had a similar trait and did not fall, decidedly, to peer pressure.  Still doesn't.  (My brother's extra cool.)  Being 7 years older than my bro ("LB"), here are some of the hits from his youth as he insisted on singing them:

• For Joan Jett's "I love rock and roll," the line following being consistent, but unintelligible, syllables.  No amount of "so put another dime in the jukebox, Baby" would convince him.  In fact, he'd get angry with me for the suggestion.  Strangely, Aidan shares that one with LB.  Also adores the song, also sings consistent but unintelligible lyrics for those lines.  Awesome.
• In "California Dreamin'", 2nd verse that is "Stopped into a church I passed along the way," he had "Stuck down in a church" - which explained why the guy would get down on his knees and begin to pray (the next line) - I mean, you're stuck.  Of course you pray.  Even better, the following line:  "You know the preacher likes to call; he knows I'm gonna stay."  Um, yeah you're gonna stay--you're stuck!  (I love that one)
• INXS Need you tonight, Actual lyrics:  "Your moves are so raw, I've got to let you know - you're one of my kind."  LB's lyrics:  "Your knees are so raw, I've got to let you know - you're one of my kind."  I never wanted to know the details of why this gentleman might be seeking out a lady with raw knees.  I never asked (though I did get bad mental pictures).