My second First rugby Match

Matt, my youngest son, had his first rugby match last week. I was at the side of the field with camera in hand to record this great moment. Although not unexpected, he was everywhere on the field. As the smallest player, he should have been intimidated. Instead he tackled their biggest player, who was at least twice his size, again, and again, and again. They lost 3 - 1, and the single try was scored by him.

This was a match to make any parent proud, and I was no exception. It was awesome to watch his absolute determination regardless of the challenges. An attitude that will stand him in good stead for the rest of his life, so long as he can control it! Best he never gives me this look though...

One of the parents was so excited that she spent some time levitating!!!

Backing off

Drove Luke to school the other day.


Nothing unusual about that, I drive him, his brother, and two other children to school just about every day. The unusual part was how I managed to suck up my need to force my view on the world.

Luke got into the car with a comic strip annual and proceeded to read it all the way to school. This from a kid who suffers from motion sickness and finds himself nauseous on any long car trip. The normal me would have lectured him on the link between reading in the car and the resulting motion sickness. But not the me in the car that morning. That me kept silent.

It drove me mad! My sense of order was profoundly out of balance. Here was something I knew for sure; reading in the car would make him nauseous. Somehow I managed to ignore this potential threat to my son’s wellbeing. I had hoped that there would be a lesson to be leant as the repeated discussions about reading in the car had obviously fallen on deaf ears. Now was his time to learn the lesson the hard way!

We got all the way to school without an inkling of nausea.

No hard lessons either.

It struck me that the problem could possibly be me. Trying to make my son see the world in the same way I see it, has been frustrating for both of us. It was insightful to see him do something his own way, which to all manner of my logic could not work and yet it did.

Perhaps all my son needs is a little more room. I just cannot believe that it could be this hard to provide it!

And he read all the way to school again today...

Birds were starting to chirp, dogs were yawning and cats were just thinking about doing that long slinky stretch manoeuvre, where they flex even their claws. I think I heard a rooster crowing but he must have been clearing his throat in preparation for the real thing. Light was just starting to seep into the world and my son was awake and dressed in his brand new school uniform. Today is the first day of his school life and he was a little excited!

Last night we asked him about his expectations for the day. Wearing his uniform ranked at the top of the list followed very closely by seeing his mates. I think that he was just glad to escape the boredom brought on by these endless school holidays (or is that me?). Either way, there was no nervousness or tears. Tell you the truth, from all of the 1st school day media reporting, I thought that the majority of children cried. Certainly not the case at school this morning, I think that the only moist eyes were those of parents.

What struck me, apart from the magnitude of the day in my son’s life, was that there were plenty of men at school. So many dads had taken the time to be a part of this occasion. And yes, this is a small thing yet massive in our children’s lives. For me, I was there! I had actually made my first appearance at a special occasion in my son’s life. Had I been in my old job, I would have missed the event as I would have been on a plane to Johannesburg for a mission critical meeting this morning (as they all are!). Instead my replacement was on the plane and I was doing what a good dad should be doing! Hopefully the first event of many that I will not have VERY good excuses to miss.

To the dads who made the effort – viva! To all the children who start their new life this week – I say long may this euphoria about learning last!