Fervor

E's has his Christmas Concert at school both this afternoon and this evening. As per teacher instructions he sported black pants and a white long sleeve shirt (his white shirt is a lovely shade of blue but he is in grade seven, his dress up clothes are limited). His initial plan was bring his change of clothes, must likely stuffed in his bag, and change into his wrinkled mess after second break. We made him change knowing how he tends to lose things the other way and got a typical teen huff, puff and "the other kids...(undecipherable mumble)". He changed anyway and while doing so C commented to me that if he didn't wear a white shirt he will stand out too much, to which I thought, he could wear my Santa hat and then if he "sticks out" at least he will be festive. Parenting a preteen must also mean being able to recognize all your own teenage insecurities -C was apparently far too cool (insert your own sly remark here) to wear a Santa hat in grade seven. He then spent the rest of his time at home this morning overanalizing the whole santa hat wearing practice of a srawny 12 year old boy. Did the cool boys wear them at his school? Would there be any merit to having it and lending it to a cute girl who comments on the hat? I laughed to think that he was not really thinking about what E wanted to do but what he would have done in that situation way back when. However, I was taken aback by his comments. The kid is growing up and I am constantly reminded of that. Things that he would have enjoyed or done with out thought just a year ago he is now too cool for.

K enojoys watching a good Disney "mooooobie" these days and E watches them in a completley different way than he used to. He now hears the voices for the actors that lent them and when we went to see Charlotte's Web this weekend, he was recognizing voices before I did. I guess the reality is that it has been six years since he accidentally discovered a certain NHL mascot in all corners of a friends basement "airing out". He now gets to share in the magic of Santa that we enjoy with K and eagerly plays along. I guess we are lucky in the sense that we have the age gap where we can appreciate that change and enjoy both ages for their different outlooks.