What We Learned on Summer Vacation

It's hard to believe that summer is just about over. To me, summer is a microcosm of parenthood in its entirety: each day can feel like a month, but then September comes and you wonder how it went so fast. With my oldest approaching his 10th birthday, I have a lot of moments when I wonder "Wait, wasn't he just 3 a few years ago?"

That said, there are a lot of things that we have all learned this summer, including, but not limited to the following:

Benjamin

• I thought he was "into" baseball last summer, which, compared to this summer, meant that he was simply cognizant that baseball was played with a ball and a bat. This child has found his niche, his raison d'etre in baseball. If he's not playing it, he wants to be watching it. If he's not watching it, he wants to be analyzing stats on mlb.com.  If he's not analyzing stats, he's reading books about baseball history. That said, I'm really glad that he's found something that piques his interest so much, and something that he and I can have in common.
  
• In that same vein, he is learning what it means to follow a team (the Detroit Tigers) even when that team is imploding and the value of being a true fan and not the fair-weather variety. This is a painful lesson to learn and I'm wary of subjecting my son to potentially years of baseball misery. [picture is from Comerica Park July 2015 when they were barely in contention and there was still an inkling of hope]
  
• I had to gently crack his dream that it was unlikely that he is going to make millions of dollars playing in the MLB. I told him that he should focus on a college scholarship first and then we'll talk about the major leagues.
• Lastly (these are all sports-related, don't judge me), he got his first taste of SportsCenter while we were on vacation. We don't have cable at home and he loved watching it in the mornings.

Caroline

• Caroline overcame some fears this summer. First, she got her ears pierced, something she was hesitant to do for awhile until one day she decided she was ready and we had a girl's morning and had brunch and got our ears pierced (mine had closed up, so I got them re-pierced). 
• Second, both Ben & Caroline were on the same baseball team this summer. The league they play in is 7-9 year olds and half of the game is coach pitch and the other half is kid pitch. Chris and I were both unsure how she was going to do, partly because she was the only girl and because she was terrified that she was going to get hit during kid pitch. And those fears were realized one game: she did get hit. But she stuck in there and ended up getting a hit! And as far as being the only girl on the team and one of the youngest, it didn't matter because she played at least a few innings at second base every game. I think she surprised herself with what she could do. [this picture is from practice: they do wear helmets during the games and most practices]
  

Elias

• Elias can swim!! He has always loved the water, but we have kept him in a life jacket because even as a toddler he would walk in over his head. He loves that sensation of being weightless and not being able to touch the bottom. Chris took his life jacket off a few weeks ago and he was doggy paddling, but he was able to make it to me! He was so proud of himself. While we were on vacation, he swam to Chris and then said "I did it!" [Have I ever mentioned how much I love this boy? Because it's loads.] For the record, this is earlier than either of his siblings started to swim.
• He can also ride his balance bike like it's his job. We're going to skip the training wheels like we had for the other two and go straight to a two-wheeler next summer. I'm pretty sure he'll be able to do it. And if he can, this will be a full year before either of his siblings rode a two-wheeler.
  
• Elias made major sensory strides this summer. Memorial Day weekend was a difficult weekend with us in Cincinnati [in a different environment], surrounded by lots of family [lots of sensory stimulation] and it was warm [as Cincinnati tends to be]. I tried to put shorts on Elias and he melted down on me because he wanted to wear pants, something I attribute to a sensory issue. Sandals were unthinkable. He wanted pants and socks on at all times. Now, he is comfortable in just about anything I put on him, which is such a relief. [see? tank top, shorts, AND sandals!]
  

Kindra

• I really disliked taking a summer class. Even though it wasn't difficult and I did well in it, it was obnoxious to have to do homework while the rest of my family went to the beach. I will not take a summer class next year unless it's an intensive on campus and I can crank it out in a week. However, in spite of not liking taking the class, I did learn HTML5 and CSS, so it wasn't a total loss.
• Expect to have to formulate a comparative analysis about the similarities and differences between ISIS and the Nazis if I ever have a notion to watch The Sound of Music with Ben (even just the special feature "Songs-Only" on the DVD!).
• I need to have a schedule mapped out for my older kids daily, down to the quarter-hour to keep them from crumbling from boredom / malaise. 
  
• The most important lesson I learned this summer is that I should NEVER ever underestimate my children, that I should always believe in their potential and make sure they know that. Maybe I should rethink my discouragement of Ben's desire to play in the MLB :)