2 January 2015
How about that? I wrote the proper year my first attempt this year!
I just wanted to put in a quick remark regarding the one thing that motivates me to blog more than anything else-- the changes I see in my kids. I love them more every day. Perhaps related, I think I am becoming a better dad on a daily basis; certainly the vacation has been a great bonding time. Ryan is just as in need of the hugs and kisses as ever but she is more eloquent about it, seems to understand it herself, and verbalizes it in a more loving method all the time. Even tonight she let me know that I had not come in to the lolos' bedroom-- where she and the sibs sleep-- to hug and kiss her goodnight.
Ana mentioned to night that Ry will be off to college in 8 ½ years.... !!! She is more than halfway to college! It does sink in more when you see how tall she is; she is within an inch of Lola, so it likely won't be more than a couple of months until she surpasses her.
Her mentation and mentality have also certainly matured. She doesn't fritz out except very rarely nowadays whereas she used to almost every time you put her homework in front of her, referring particularly first grade. Now part of that may be that she is not as challenged in Arkansas as she was in Kentucky, but I am happier that she is happier even if it is at the loss of some of the knowledge that she might have gained. The counterargument is that she would not have retained as much as stressed as she was.
J.K. (fka Trey, the name change being his declaration around October) has become the calm deliberate thinker, a very intelligent young man. He still gets stirred up easily with losing anything. In fact, it happened four or five times just today, brief episodes of tears starting to flow, drying up in about 10 seconds, as we were playing a silly video game called Soccerheads. In the past year he has truly changed. While the above links him to old Trey, he is more calm and collected with reading, deciding. He has learned a few guitar chords. He has learned chess and backgammon this year, as well as a couple of card games. He is a sponge, and I foresee a great mind.
My greatest concern is that he is sometimes withdrawn, perhaps antisocial. I hope that I have not caused it or that it is not reversible. Often at bedtime, if I am not with him reading but rather come in to kiss and hug him goodnight, he will pretend to be asleep. In a way I see some of myself in it, that personality that will simply avoid rather than confront an intimate moment. I really hope that he learns to overcome this, but if anyone has the mental fortitude to change his personality, I would put money on this kid.
Myka continues to be the extravert. She is miles better-spoken than a year ago, and she was above average then. I think the time she has spent with Ana since we have moved to Little Rock. She has been a charmer, but a lot of it was due to her precociousness in the past. She is such a warm personality. I also love the love that she has for her family. During vacation, for example, she has come up to me several times per day just to give me a kiss and tell me she loves me. She mentioned yesterday how she misses J.K. when he is not around even for a few hours. Ana and she had a discussion about saying it to J.K. so he knows it, but she shrugged it off, saying that he doesn't like to hear these things. And she was right on Ry's heels when they headed out the door with Ana to hit the Justice store. And who dresses her many mornings, including this one? Ryan.
I love these kids more all the time. I can see how it gets really hard for a dad when the nest empties. The love keeps growing, then they pull away. But you certainly want to guard yourself from the inevitable hurt; just let it keep blossoming.
How about that? I wrote the proper year my first attempt this year!
I just wanted to put in a quick remark regarding the one thing that motivates me to blog more than anything else-- the changes I see in my kids. I love them more every day. Perhaps related, I think I am becoming a better dad on a daily basis; certainly the vacation has been a great bonding time. Ryan is just as in need of the hugs and kisses as ever but she is more eloquent about it, seems to understand it herself, and verbalizes it in a more loving method all the time. Even tonight she let me know that I had not come in to the lolos' bedroom-- where she and the sibs sleep-- to hug and kiss her goodnight.
Ana mentioned to night that Ry will be off to college in 8 ½ years.... !!! She is more than halfway to college! It does sink in more when you see how tall she is; she is within an inch of Lola, so it likely won't be more than a couple of months until she surpasses her.
Her mentation and mentality have also certainly matured. She doesn't fritz out except very rarely nowadays whereas she used to almost every time you put her homework in front of her, referring particularly first grade. Now part of that may be that she is not as challenged in Arkansas as she was in Kentucky, but I am happier that she is happier even if it is at the loss of some of the knowledge that she might have gained. The counterargument is that she would not have retained as much as stressed as she was.
J.K. (fka Trey, the name change being his declaration around October) has become the calm deliberate thinker, a very intelligent young man. He still gets stirred up easily with losing anything. In fact, it happened four or five times just today, brief episodes of tears starting to flow, drying up in about 10 seconds, as we were playing a silly video game called Soccerheads. In the past year he has truly changed. While the above links him to old Trey, he is more calm and collected with reading, deciding. He has learned a few guitar chords. He has learned chess and backgammon this year, as well as a couple of card games. He is a sponge, and I foresee a great mind.
My greatest concern is that he is sometimes withdrawn, perhaps antisocial. I hope that I have not caused it or that it is not reversible. Often at bedtime, if I am not with him reading but rather come in to kiss and hug him goodnight, he will pretend to be asleep. In a way I see some of myself in it, that personality that will simply avoid rather than confront an intimate moment. I really hope that he learns to overcome this, but if anyone has the mental fortitude to change his personality, I would put money on this kid.
Myka continues to be the extravert. She is miles better-spoken than a year ago, and she was above average then. I think the time she has spent with Ana since we have moved to Little Rock. She has been a charmer, but a lot of it was due to her precociousness in the past. She is such a warm personality. I also love the love that she has for her family. During vacation, for example, she has come up to me several times per day just to give me a kiss and tell me she loves me. She mentioned yesterday how she misses J.K. when he is not around even for a few hours. Ana and she had a discussion about saying it to J.K. so he knows it, but she shrugged it off, saying that he doesn't like to hear these things. And she was right on Ry's heels when they headed out the door with Ana to hit the Justice store. And who dresses her many mornings, including this one? Ryan.
I love these kids more all the time. I can see how it gets really hard for a dad when the nest empties. The love keeps growing, then they pull away. But you certainly want to guard yourself from the inevitable hurt; just let it keep blossoming.
