« mini contortionist | Main | introductions »
April 01, 2008
aidan
raising a seven year old is more than a bit overwhelming when i take more than a moment to actually reflect on the process. i am sure that many who have been there would roll their eyes and say that i worry too much. that may be true, but i am often so afraid of all that i am probably doing wrong. when we face all that embodies this age again next year with abel, i am sure that i will not be as concerned. i will then be obsessing about whatever uncharted territory we have entered into with aidan yet again. you know, it is that first time mom thing. i am confident in my ability to not cause injury to my infant, but i have absolutely no idea how to raise a growing boy while keeping in mind the man that i hope he will become.
aidan has become much more vocal these days about his plans for the future. he presents his ideas with such confidence and determination. he is fine with leaving our home but cannot imagine ever being apart from his best friends, asa and willem. he plans for them all to find an apartment at some point. he is also talking about his desire to learn to surf, move to hawaii, and grow his hair "out like vines." hope that his buddies are up for that lifestyle. aidan is also planning for his future family. he wants to get married and have about five children. at this point their names are asa and willem (no surprise there), cannon and speed (who are all boys). he intends for his fifth child to be a girl named either sally or electric-c (not electricity)...
each day he is usually eager to wake up, eat his breakfast, and head off to school to meet up with his good friends. it is so comforting to know that he spends his days learning with a kind teacher surrounded by people his age who are loving and encourage him to always try his best. last month, his class each chose a different historical figure to study for black history month. aidan and i decided that he should research pele, the amazing brazilian soccer player. each night he came home eager to look on the computer for new information on pele and watch videos of this soccer star in action. he also shared bits of information on his classmates' projects throughout the week. i was amazed at the amount of information that he retained and his eagerness to learn. at the end of the month, aidan stood before his class, and his teacher said that he gave a great presentation.
as i am sure i have said in previous posts, coupled with aidan's determination and confidence comes some stubbornness and aggression (particularly toward me). these aspects of his personality are often made worse by fatigue and/or too much sugar. bedtime can often bring out the worst in my little guy. a couple of weeks ago i was putting my guys to bed and was tucking in a very frustrated aidan. honestly, i do not have a lot of patience at the end of the day and was hoping to just turn off the light and have some down time myself. aidan wanted to rehash an incident that he had with abel earlier that day in which he felt that i did not discipline abel enough for his offense. after telling aidan that it was just time for bed and that i loved him, he looked up at me with eyebrows furrowed and said, "mom, it's just like i'm black history, and you're the white man!" now that was not something i could have expected! i then laughed and complimented him on a great analogy for a first grader...a bit dramatic, but so funny!
last night aidan had a difficult time going to sleep because he was thrilled reading through a book on the solar system checked out from the library earlier that day. mark was holding willem, and we both commented on how amazing it seems that aidan is no longer this infant but a growing boy learning and reading on his own and so excited about all there is for him to learn. a few nights ago, a star wars book captured his interest. in an attempt to convey his love for all things related to star wars, he said "dad, it's like star wars controls my whole body. you know, i am just sooo into star wars."
so, there it is: bits about my boy that i want to remember. i know i will be laughing at my worries once we have passed through this stage and are entering into a different and possibly more complex one....
| By cooleys | 11:05 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://chattablogs.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/45488
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference aidan:
Comments
Oh man, great post.
I'm sure Asa would love to learn to surf with Aiden when they move to Hawaii -- I actually hope the boys move to Hawaii for a while and get a house together because then we can go visit them!
Posted by: Amy at April 1, 2008 05:07 PM
thanks for reminding me that my blog is for keeping memories. It makes me want to go back and read my archives.
Your experience makes me less afraid of the future. I know you think that's crazy, but it's true. You guys are doing a great job Amber!
Posted by: katiek at April 2, 2008 01:42 PM
I feel the same way about Dana most of the time. It seems like first children have such a close and willful relationship with their mamas. I'm so thankful that God doesn't leave us alone to parent. It's too big a job.
Posted by: Karen Monahan at April 4, 2008 09:25 AM
