Jack Turned 8

Well, it’s over. I solo hosted my first birthday party at home, Jack’s 8th, and survived. I even had fun at times, but more importantly, Jack and his guests had fun. It was a little stressful to prepare for and mildly stressful to stage (I had to be reminded to bring out the birthday cake), but all’s well that ends well.

I woke by 5, as usual, but Jack began his day a couple hours later. The first thing he said was “Dad, you’re going to be proud of my personality today. It’s going to be a great day.”

What prompted that, I suspect, was that I’d been telling him he had to be a good host; greeting people, staying near the door, not running off with others, thanking people, etc.
Did it work? Mmmmm…not really. Oh, well. We’ll work on that next year---and the year after that, and that and that.

I hired our 17-year-old neighbor and baby-sitter Lara to help out with prep and games. Wise move. When Jack ran off with the boys she kept the four girls occupied and happy, which freed me up and made me happy as well. One of the games Lara came up with was to transfer cotton balls from one plate to another using only some Vaseline on the nose. No hands were allowed, you had to shake the balls off. The game was a hit with the girls, who wanted to play it again and again. We also had a balloon toss, egg race (with spoon), a funny farm animal game where teams had to search for goldfish (previously hidden) and make the noise of a farm animal to alert their leader, who then collected them. The team that collected the most won a prize. Everyone did, though, and got lots of candy from a piñata I’d stuffed full of good things the night before.

One thing I found interesting about the playing of games is how empowered kids are these days versus when I was 8. When I was 8, if an adult said we're now going to play spin- the-bottle, I played spin-the-bottle. Happily. But Saturday, each time a game was announced, some kids would say "I don't want to play that". I guess that's good, but it caught me by surprise.

Preparing for the party was a multi-pronged effort: preparing a menu and activities, stashing extra furniture and belongings from a garage I’d stopped renting, but which now clogged the living room. I sold several furniture items and consolidated the rest in two bedrooms…tucked away tools and work items in the carport and bins there, which freed up the patio. Tried to get the pool heater going, but failed. It turned out to be 75 degrees with a slight breeze, so no one was interested in swimming anyway. I’ve since got it working, but will wait for an occasion to crank it up. I’m buying a solar cover this week and that will help retain the heat. Current water temperature is 70, which is on the cool side for me.

In other news, Jack has made a few more friends and is doing well. Once the pool is warm I’m sure we’ll have lots of playdates. Never enough for Jack, of course, but he’ll survive. He’s taking a swim class at the Y, which can be challenging. His opinion about it changes. He got promoted to a higher group despite not being able to dive, but the last two sessions he’s (allegedly) done somersaults into the water. I’ll have to go see for myself. I used to stay and watch, but lately it seems I’ve needed to shop or check on work with a client. Maybe tomorrow. I’m almost amused by the fact that he talks with other boys in the locker room for a half-hour after class. Not sure what they talk about. I’ll have to eavesdrop.

Homework is still a struggle most nights. I work with him and think he has learned some math process, but a week later I find he has already forgotten. His teacher and perhaps his school is big on writing skills (stories). That’s been a struggle as well. Reading hasn’t been too bad, but I’ve allowed him to read Calvin and Hobbes books for a lot of his daily half-hour requirement, lately, and he enjoys them. Thanks to Steph’s boyfriend Eric for starting him on that path with a book at Christmas. Steph bought another and I bought four on Ebay, so we probably have every Calvin comic strip ever printed.

Jack is also walking on the treadmill most days. Sometimes twice. He is very pigeon-toed and a doctor said constant practice would help him. I’m not sure he gets “constant” practice, but we’re trying. We have a few hikes coming up with friends. Those should be more interesting.

I am busy and well, trying not to work six days a week, but failing. I usually don’t work a long day, though, so that helps. Social life has been active. No complaints there. I just need to find time.

It could be another 6 weeks before the County approves plans for the second floor addition. I’ve seen some figures from the contractor and am already trying to cut ten thousand out of the budget by doing some work myself and/or hiring my own people. The contractor knows I’m a DIY guy, though, and is not offended. I will start demo on a bathroom this week. Still have to figure out tile design specifics and a couple other things, but it will happen.

That’s it for today.

S