Tooting my kids’ horns

I have awesome kids. Each is very unique, but they’re definitely awesome. This past week has brought a few reminders of that.

My oldest, my daughter, started high school this year. She also decided she wanted to learn an instrument and join the band. She chose the saxophone, and not long after school ended in June, began to learn to play–largely on her own. I remembered just enough from my music ed. courses in college to help her get a good tone, but she pretty much took it from there. When school started this year her band teacher held a playing test to determine where each student should be placed. She made second chair, first saxophone, in some cases over kids who had been playing longer than her.

My middle child, my oldest son, has set a goal to make it to the Pokemon World Championship next year (usually in August). I’ve probably mentioned it before, but he’s been learning from the better players in the next division up, as well as studying what other top players do, and watching the coverage of the championship matches this year. He also found that to get an invitation to World you need 250 championship points. Oddly enough, those are earned only by winning (or placing high) in tournaments. He’s entered three since the “season” began, and won first place in all three, earning 45 championship points thus far. This, we saw recently, puts him ranked 31st in the world at the moment (granted, its early in the season and he’s in a ten-way tie for 31st). He has another tournament this weekend.

My youngest son is into tennis. What little edge I retain when I play him is mainly due to my height, and my ability to serve more consistently. Outside of that, he destroys me. And he should, considering he’s in classes or match-play three days a week. Anyway, his tennis instructors are forming a league, dividing the kids into teams that will play against each other and against other schools’ teams. He was just appointed team captain for his team.

I told you they’re unique. And I’m proud of them.