What have the boys been doing this month? Apparently, diet and exercise are a thing in my home. This started with Justin when he found out he needed to weigh under 80 kilograms in order to qualify with other kids his age to become a pilot. My husband started him on a plan where he skips meals and eats very little rice at when he does sit down to eat. He is also walking home from school in order to get some exercise for that day.
Aidan and Jordan have been into volleyball since Jordan’s birthday party last month. They have been outside almost every night volleying the volleyball that Jordan received on that day! Aidan got so good at it that he qualified for the volleyball team at his elementary school. He has practices every Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and he loves it! Jordan also loves volleyball, but he is definitely not quite as intense as Aidan. These two are a bit more into the exercise than they are into the dieting thing.
In fact, we were having Wednesday night pizza when the boys were commenting on how well they were doing on their diets. Everyone was taking a moderate amount of pizza slices. And then Aidan pulled out ice cream from the refrigerator. They were small little bites shaped like rice cakes, and the boys proceeded to devour the bites. So much for the diet!
On that same night, Aidan made a funny comment. I had basically asked Aidan to take Jordan with him since he was going to practice volleyball with his friends. It was not going well, so I said, “Of course you will take your brother with you!” Aidan moved toward the door, put on his shoes, and said, “Of course, I will not take my brother. He is too slow!” and left the house. Jordan was okay with this since he usually is the last person at the table finishing his food 15 minutes after anyone else. He was actually pretty quick. Five minutes later he was out the door joining his brother.
Another fun story is that Aidan had graduation pictures taken this week. Of course, I heard about it in the morning, and we were scrambling to find clothes for him to wear. Aidan pulled out a plaid shirt and asked, “Is this okay?” I smiled because he looked so Canadian with that shirt on. When he put on the blue jean jacket, I smiled and said, “Hey James Dean! You look great!” He smiled because I had explained who James Dean was earlier. That Canadian boy went off to school, and he did send pictures of himself and his friends later in the afternoon. The pics were lovely!
It is also exam season right now. Justin just finished midterms on Wednesday. I always know when he is finished because he takes a really long nap on the last day of exams, and that is what he did yesterday. He got up Thursday morning with a little bit of trepedition on his face. I don’t think he was thrilled with the thought of returning to the regular schedule at school. I just want to grab the child, hold him, and tell him that he only has a few more months to go before he is going to feel some genuine freedom in life.
We have to finish with a story about Jordan. I was tucking him into bed the other night, and I was using some lines from a children’s story we used to read.
“Momma comes to tuck you in.
Pulls the covers to your chin.
Squeezes finger, squeezes toes.
Puts a kiss upon your nose.
Checks for monsters under the bed,
And says good night you sleepyhead.”
We had gone through quite the procedure to get Jordan to sleep. And then he rolled over and said, “I want a massage, Mom. Please!” These back massages are becoming a regular thing to help the child sleep. I gave him a back rub for five minutes, repeated the lines from the children’s story, and said good night. It took him all of two minutes to snuggle in right beside me, take a few deep breaths, and slowly fall asleep.
I just want to say that the bedtime routine might be rather annoying, but in the end I love him cuddling up right next to me. I feel like God is watching the whole thing and smiling down on us.