It’s been interesting thus far this year having Beckett in our office after school.
Up until this year, he has gone to day care immediately after school to do his homework. In a perfect world, when school was over, we would be able to call it a day at work when the school day is over, but that hasn’t happened yet this school year.
We are in a transition period for certain. It’s a little too early to say if it’s going well at this point after four weeks as a third grader.
There’s no question he has been a distraction thus far for his parents, despite the fact we created a little office for him to do his work while we finish our day. He’s not one to stay in one place for long and subsequently makes the rounds throughout the office quite a bit.
That’s good and bad. One thing we realized we need to immediately work on is an understanding that it’s rude to interrupt someone when they are talking on the phone. That originated when one day he just walked up to me and starting having a conversation, despite the fact I was on the phone. I think he’s just not used to seeing a real phone up to my ear, rather than a cell.
Additionally, he has learned over the couple weeks that a closed door is that way for a reason. The door being closed is not an opportunity to practice his “America Ninja Warrior” moves to get it open and interrupt his mom’s meeting.
Some days are smoother than others for certain, but more often than not we are left believing that $24 per day for two hours of daycare might have been a steal.
At my house, which is probably the minority, nobody celebrates school delays.
For my kids, 8 and 6, respectively, they are not at the ages where we can just let them sleep in. They get up between 5 and 6:30 in the morning no matter what day of the week or when they go to bed. Therefore, it’s not like we can just say they can get some extra sleep.
On Thursday, when inclement weather and flooding oddly enough delayed school for two hours, I was up working when Carson came down the steps a little after 5 a.m. I tried everything to get him to go back to sleep, resorting even to lying with him in his bed and putting aside my work (not the first time or last time my job will get bumped for my kids). Unfortunately, he was up and that was that and was yawning by the time he went to school at 10:30 that morning.
For working parents, delays are a nightmare and require more juggling than usual. The kids might like the extra time in the morning to get ready, but for us all it does is result in the same amount of work needing to get done in a much smaller window of time.
For Beckett, as soon as he was informed of the school delay and the fact he would have to come to the office, his reaction was negative. His first concern was about missing “PE,” but when we looked at his schedule and realized he would still have it, he came around a bit.
Carson takes most things in stride, but when daylight started to appear he couldn’t figure out why there was a delay. It was just raining. When I told him it was probably because some areas were flooded, he didn’t buy it, signing immediately and with vigor that I was crazy.
He was right because delays on deadline days do make me a bit crazy.
Beckett has become a flopper in soccer, and I blame it on watching professional games and playing video games.
He’s a physically strong kid, but if an opposing player puts an arm on him or leans on him while running he falls down like he’s been assaulted. Most of the time the referee sees right through it and gives the play-on ruling.
Everyone tells him he’s no good to anyone on the ground and that he must stay on his feet. He’s been slow to accept that advice, preferring to be theatrical rather than tough on the field.
What happened last weekend is not helping our cause in proving the point, however. He has been playing on a club team over at Crown this fall and it’s been largely humbling. He’s playing mostly against kids older than him and who have been playing together a lot longer than his team. The result being lopsided contests most of the time.
During the last minute of a game last weekend, Beckett got fouled in the penalty box with under a minute to go. As he lined up for the penalty kick, an opposing team member a few feet away began shouting as he approached the ball. It was ridiculously poor sportsmanship, but it didn’t faze Beckett, who hammered the penalty shot home.
The ensuing celebration was befitting a World Cup championship. He didn’t take off his shirt like Brandi Chastain in 1999 (only because he didn’t think of it) but he did do some No. 1 finger wiggles and added a somersault at midfield. The game ended within 30 seconds and his team lost by a score of 9-1.
It didn’t matter to him though.
