OK, my kid is back in Pittsburgh and my wife and I are missing him… so I decided to start this thread.
Now that he’s at an American school, his summer begins in early June. We started the summer by taking a trip to Amsterdam, Brussels and Koln.
We stayed on a boat in A’dam…
Went to see some windmills…
Went to see my brother in Koln… stopped at the big cathedral there (the Dom)…
Went to eat some wursts and drink Kolsch… He’s always happy when he’s eating…
Then he went to Pittsburgh and my brother took him to fly in a B-17…
I think he’s putting ear plugs in… they were able to stick their heads out of the gun turret atop the plane… I guess it was quite a ride…
My brother covers racing and is good friends with Ed Lynch, Jr. (aka the Apollo Rocket), one of the better dirt track sprint car drivers in the US… My boy is now working in the pit for Ed Lynch, Jr. on Friday night races at Learnerville Speedway…
My son is learning how to distinguish morning-dad rage from external-stimuli-dad-rage.
That, and how to meet in force any and all breaches of the perimeter.
I hope this will serve him well, in the hell that is public education.
Gr.1 next sept.
Eek!
Wow, lucky kid tigerman. That’s a lot of great stuff to pack into a summer.
My girl’s dependent on her dad’s busy schedule so she only gets 9 days off this island, but it will still be good. We fly to Denver on Friday, will see the great Denver zoo; hang out at the neighborhood swimming pool in the hot Denver sun; play in the lush grass in the backyard with the old dog, the brand-new puppie and her 10 year old cousin who’s thrilled to see her; then after grandparents and other bro fly in, will drive up to the mountain house, for a few days of hiking, biking, fishing and birthday celebrations.
No racing cars or flying in military jets (although she thankfully loves flying in commercial jets), but it’ll be great.
The youngcowdude, age 11, is preparing for his 1st year of Junior High School which starts next month - the 7th grade - by reading, studying, playing a lot of basketball and baseball with me and a couple of friends of his from 6th grade.
The house here has become a 2nd home for 2 of his school buddies this summer for 2 to 3 days every week so far. We have some room for them in the back patio/yard area so they don’t have to stay cramped up inside all summer. And there are a couple of nice parks with basketball courts and baseball fields a short walk away. They get to burn off some of that adolescent energy.
The only rule I have for them is…“No visible blood!”
Ha! I know what that’s all about… how many weeks away already and we’ve only managed to Skype once on the macs…
We’ve always tried to make summers about fun and education…
I started this thread primarily because I am missing my boy… but, also because I am constantly amazed at how much my boy’s childhood differs from my own childhood… Of course this is much a result of our international marriage… so, I wondered what everyone’s kids are doing.
Besides all of the neat stuff, my boy is also doing chores. Sure, he does chores at home here in Taipei… but its not the same. In Pittsburgh he mows the lawn, cuts firewood, goes up to the farm and helps out… He rides around in my brother’s pickup truck listening to country music… I think these things are just as important as the fun stuff, and he’d never have a chance to do that stuff here.
Sailing camp, in Maine you say? Sounds fun… yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, yup…
Ha! I know what that’s all about… how many weeks away already and we’ve only managed to Skype once on the macs…
We’ve always tried to make summers about fun and education…
I started this thread primarily because I am missing my boy… but, also because I am constantly amazed at how much my boy’s childhood differs from my own childhood… Of course this is much a result of our international marriage… so, I wondered what everyone’s kids are doing.
Besides all of the neat stuff, my boy is also doing chores. Sure, he does chores at home here in Taipei… but its not the same. In Pittsburgh he mows the lawn, cuts firewood, goes up to the farm and helps out… He rides around in my brother’s pickup truck listening to country music… I think these things are just as important as the fun stuff, and he’d never have a chance to do that stuff here.
Sailing camp, in Maine you say? Sounds fun… yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, yup…[/quote]
Too true, you say that but you don’t realize how different it is until you have to explain something like mowing the lawn. What an alien concept. My mom has given them a project - paint the shed - remember doing that?!?
My lad is in Oz, where it is winter both metaphorically under John Howard, and in reality cos of the earth’s funky axis. He turns 17 this year and has opted to take on a carpenter’s apprenticeship and finish high school. That means his holidays are devoted to getting up at ungodly hours and working as a chippie’s slave with all the bastardry that entails. Unfortunately that means he can’t make it to meet his little Thai step sister and me for his hols in Thailand, but we’re not complaining. Instead the lil’ Thai princess (7 this year) and her mother will be heading to HK to play on the beach, learn to swim (both of them!) and catch up on English.
Its funny the lad should choose carpentry, as it is something I’ve always fancied, although my dreams were somewhat dashed when my woodwork teacher lopped off 9 fingers with a band saw in class all those years ago. I remember that teacher was only 24 years old at the time and newly arrived from the UK and as pleased as Punch to be in Australia.
The lad also gets his licence this year and all I can say on that is I am so damned glad he never caught the familial bent for riding, racing and crashing motorcycles at ever higher speeds.
