Eagles fly

Gabe

Gabe flew this afternoon to Utrecht with his football team. 13 boys and four adults, none from his family. This short flight has been the cause of enormous anxiety for Gabe for weeks. The lost Malaysian airliner, being sick while flying have spiralled around countless conversations. It was almost a relief when the club ordered him a track suit for the trip that is far too large, as it introduced something else for him to obsess about. We don’t know if he kept himself together on the plane, but there’s been nothing on the Facebook page for the tour that would suggest otherwise. We will know in six days and one more flight’s time.

Robin

His older brother’s Friday night cricket commitments created a vacant slot for a piano lesson. Robin snatched it up eagerly. He’s had one lesson, where he explained he learnt to play ‘pieces’, and left as enthusiastic as he had arrived.

Eliza

The results of Eliza’s mock eleven plus are in. Her aggregate score was in the top quartile of the 300+ participants. Her English mark was the top score achieved on that particular test. Non-verbal reasoning appears to be the discipline at which she needs most practice before the real thing in September.

Teen

Gabe

Gabe celebrated his 13th birthday with pizza, with us his family and two days later, with five friends, who were assembled for a FIFA14 party. They played football in the garden and sat around the dining table laughing, although L and I couldn’t tell at what. Gabe was very satisfied with his birthday.

Robin

Robin played football in the morning of his brother’s party. At lunch he said he couldn’t see properly with one eye and went to bed with a migraine. He woke as Gabe’s friends arrived. Although not part of the FIFA contest, he remained in their midst, played football in the garden with them all and laughed along at tea (perhaps as clueless as L & I about what was funny).

Eliza

Eliza’s build-up to the 11+ began in earnest with a practice test at a local secondary school on the morning of Gabe’s party. She thought she coped ok with two papers, but less well with the third as she was waiting to have a query answered for a long time. She kept in the background during the afternoon and claimed her right to a reward stating that for not annoying the boys at the party she should have a treat on Sunday. I took her swimming.

Porches

Eliza

Walking to school one morning this week, L pointed out to Eliza that the only house on our street without a porch was our own. This delighted Eliza as she walked past the houses spotting the various porch designs.

Later that afternoon, L walked Eliza, Robin and his friend H home from school. On our street, Robin explained to H, with great sincerity, that only his house didn’t have a porch.

Gabe

A phone call late on Friday evening: ‘Would Gabe be able to play for the Saturday 3rds?’ Gabe nodded his interest and so the next day he made his senior cricket debut – a little over a week short of his 13th birthday. He came into bat at the end of his team’s innings and faced the opposition’s fast bowler. He got off the mark with a clip to the legside, ran some extras hard and was run out off the final ball. In the field, he was given four overs, bowling well, if a little short. He enjoyed the experience but wished he could have contributed more.

Robin

Watching Gabe’s game, a stray Staffordshire bull terrier ran onto the ground. It charged around looking for a game. Robin cowered close to some adults. On one of its circuits the dog ran close to Robin, seemed to be trying to get past, but collided with his leg. Robin cried, I assumed out of fear and I took him into the pavilion. But his leg was sore and I iced it when we went home. It stayed painful the following day. Robin sat out a football party and was barely straightening the leg or putting weight on it. After a day at school, L took him to the minor injuries clinic, where a strained knee tendon was diagnosed. Two days later and the leg was fully operational again.