{Tiny Wings}

Today was our annual Tae Kwon Do school tournament. Reilly’s third tournament, and Meg’s second. Instead of celebrating our Irish heritage (well, not mine — I’m just an honorary Irish chick) on St. Patty’s day, we spent the day Korean instead!

For the first time, I could really feel a sense of ‘family’ as we spent the better part of the day with the other TKD children and parents. Because these are the people I spend 3 evenings a week with. Mind you, I’ll talk to anyone — but we definitely have bonded as a group, since our kids have gone through this entire program together. It was fun cheering for not only my own children, but those who I admire so much. There are some really good kids. Good in a TKD sense, and just good good. Polite, genuine, good kids. I love that. I love that TKD instills a sense of respect in kids. Teaches them manners on top of athleticism and sportsmanship.

Reilly started the day . . . well . . . off. He placed 4th in forms — which should have been his strongest area. He was really upset. Judging TKD seems to be a very subjective thing. But I think he did very well and should be proud. He rounded out his day with a second place in board breaking and a second place in sparring as well.

Meg surprised us all (as well as herself) by placing first in forms. Against 3 boys!! Woo hoo, you go girl!! As she stood in line waiting for the trophy to be awarded, she had no idea that she’d gotten first. I kept saying to Mike, “She has no idea. She’s going to freak!” When the judge handed her the trophy and she looked down at it, the expression on her face was priceless!! Too fun. She then finished 3rd in both board breaking and targets.

I love how nonchalant the kids are about the whole competition thing. Not just my kids — most of them. They go up there and do what they’ve trained to do, while the rest of us parents nervously gnaw on our lip, and peek between the hands covering our eyes!! Breaking boards and sparring can be pretty brutal to watch, and I’m amazed by the spirit these kids show! Very proud to be a TKD mom!

“One of the most obvious facts about grownups to a child is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.” – Randell Jarrell -

It’s bedtime on a Friday night, which means it’s late. And Reilly suddenly gets a fit of the giggles. Meg has gone to bed and is grumbling at us to be quiet, so we move to the kitchen. And there on the countertop is a wonderfully thick rubber band. I say to Ry, “So, do you know how to shoot one of these?” Which turns into the battle of the century. If I must say, my son has a theatrical flair I was unaware of. Complete with “I’m shot. I’m down! I can see the bright light . . . Tell my wife there are pickles in the fridge . . . ” Eventually, the shrieks and giggles draw Meg out of bed into the kitchen. Surely, you don’t want to miss a party when Mean Ol’ Momma is instigating the naughtiness. So, more rubber band shooting ensues. Daddy is in the next room, sitting in front of the laptop, not participating in any of our Tom Foolery. (Why is that? When I’m playing, he suddenly becomes all parent-ish?!) Eventually, he wanders into enemy territory to fetch a bedtime snack. Just as Reilly is about to launch the rubber band at me, I catch his eye and nod my head towards Dad. An evil grin spreads across Reilly’s face, as he aims squarely for Dad’s noggin.

“HEY! Someone is going to lose an eye!” says Dad in his most unbecomingly parent-ish voice.

“That’s why I aimed for your EAR!” shouts the first born.

At which point I am laughing so hard I am crying. What a witty child I’ve reared. I KNOW he takes after his mother, for sure. Dad slinks back to the couch to watch the news while we continue snapping the rubber band at each other for awhile. Fuddy duddy.

Note to self: Play more.