Monday, November 17, 2008

Team Spirit


Saturday was the last soccer game of Oliver's first season. He had a great time, especially when he stopped thinking about saber-toothed cats and started playing the game! Two times we had to pull him away from kicking or trying to kick the ball when he was supposed to be resting. He has had a lot of fun.
At the team party the coach handed out trophies and certificates. Oliver was given the award for team spirit, which prompted him to quiz his coach: "What do you mean by team spirit?" The coach began a list: you're always cheerful, and when you're there you make others cheerful; you're happy to do whatever we're doing; you even came to practice when you were sick." At some point in the litany Oliver said, "Ok, I get it. I get it." That team spirit must have an off switch ;o)

the extra something that gets you out the door


Life can be rough--full of things we don't want to do. A certain someone I know once wore a tiara to a finance meeting she expected to be particularly contentious. Oliver, it seems, has similar sensibilities. Occasionally we are made to engage in a frantic search for the dragon mask before we leave the house. On the latest occasion, the dragon mask was needed for dragon church.

Delayed election coverage of Oliver's political hopes


Oliver chose to support Obama during the primaries in the Fall of 2007. It was confusing and frustrating to him to have to wait until November of 2008 to cast a vote. Occasionally he would get agitated by news reports on the radio in which Clinton or McCain said that Obama wouldn't win. These he took to be election results. Thankfully, they weren't.
This fall Oliver watched the main convention speeches and the debates and asked us quite a few questions about them. He was intrigued by the idea that people who love each other--family and friends--would have different political views. He wondered aloud one day whether I would still love him if he supported McCain.
It was clear that my ballot was at least half his, and I was glad for a ceremonial marker to my return home from a 5 day trip. Oliver asked about every single proposition--what it meant and why I voted the way I did. When we turned in our ballot he asked for two "I voted" stickers and wore his proudly all day. His TA reported that at lunch time he shouted out, "I voted for Barack Obama this morning." When some children asked for a story, he began to tell about the different political views of the characters from the Hundred Acre Wood. Since I wasn't there to hear it, I'll offer his summary: Roo, Kanga, Pooh, and Piglet went for Obama, whilst Rabbit, the gopher, and Tigger voted for McCain. (Just in case you're wondering, humans didn't vote, nobody asked Eeyore, and Owl was not allowed to vote.)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

a visit with Molly


This is going back a bit, but the photo and story are well worth the wait. Molly and her folks came to visit us in late September, soon after Molly's birthday. Here Oliver is reading Molly's present to her: _Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners_, by Laurie Keller. The story is great and Oliver read with expression. Molly's joy gave us a gift! Surely you know about Molly's obsession with Emmet Otter's Jug Band?