The Parlour Suprise

Dear Thunderchild,

So there I was, on my knees cleaning the floor one Sunday morning when you walk in and say "Daddy, you want to have Maccas because I want to show you something?".

Now, it is important to keep the house clean, but it is more important to spend time with family and create memories:  you might not get another chance.

Off we go and have breakfast at a McDonalds, but not the usual one.  This time it's one we don't normally go to.  After breakfast TC wips out the iPhone, punches in coordinates and off we go.  However, before we start off the phone tells us "Calculating directions to Pancake Parlour".  Shame, a little of the surprise gone there but I was still happy we were going.  Haven't had pancakes for a while.

So the GPS tells us to turn here and go there.  We're looking out for the place - find it and find ourselves in the Bus lane!  In my rush to get out of there I turn into some dodgy alleyway.  Well, nothing that a u-turn cannot solve.  We eventually found some parking a block or 2 away and off we went.

Arriving at the Pancake Parlour I notice that it is in the basement of a building.  I love places like this - think they're awesome.  Down the steps we go and TC has one final surprise for me - "Can we sit at the chess table please?".  Chess table?  Woohoo!  She knows me so well.

Off we go and sit at this massive table with high chairs and large chess pieces and get stuck into the game.  Something has happened to TC as she got a lot better than last time we played.  I now had to really concentrate.  However, my chess is a little rusty and I soon found myself in a very tricky situation - one wrong move and it's checkmate.

Luckily the food came and I could relax and think about my move.  We'll leave the chess game there.

Back to the car we went and then headed up one of the hills around Canberra where there was a wonderful lookout:  cold but still a cool way to see the city.  Look Dad, there's the hockey fields in Lyneham:  she picked them up immediately.

I do want to say a big THANK YOU to Thunderchild for a wonderful Sunday morning.  I'll remember this for as long as I live.

An end and a new start

So, with a few hours left of 2013 it's perhaps time to reflect on the life of Thunderchild the last year or so.

There are 3 areas of her life of which I'm most proud namely personal, sport and academic.

Academic

The way the school system works here is that you get credits in years 9 and 10 that add up to a score at the end of year 10.  Despite having one term less than the other students, and coming from a predominantly Afrikaans schooling arena, TC managed to achieve a distinction in her final year.  I'm so proud of her because I know what it took.  She worked very hard to ensure that all her assignments were done properly and handed in on time.

She also had this wonderful knack of taking on her teachers if she disagreed with something they said.  This was particularly evident when they studied WW2 and the Nazis.  TC believed that a lot of good was done in Germany before the war that was never noted.  She also had a big problem with everyone criticising the Germans but forgetting what the British, Russians and Americans also did.

In year 9 she was very fortunate to be ahead in Mathematics, having done most of the work previously in South Africa.  This afforded her the opportunity to assist others in her class that were struggling, something she relished doing.

There were 2 extra subjects that she took:  psychology and sociology.  I'm glad she took these as they will be crucial in her future career when she studies criminology (which she will also take in college next year).  These subjects she also really enjoyed as they gave her a lot of insight into how people thought.

Sport

She really excelled in her hockey these last 2 years.  She also did a few other sports such as badminton and soccer, but hockey was most prominent.

In 2012 she managed to get into the team for Daramalan College, playing U/16 with the occasional U/18 game when they needed someone.  Her rapport with her teammates and coach was very good.  With every game she played she always gave everything she had and, at the end of each game, she always had a smile that went around the ears - she just loved the sport.

Towards the end of 2012 her school managed to put together a combined team (boys and girls) to take part in a hockey competition.  This was their first time playing in the tournament and the promptly ended up winning it, beating one of the top schools in Canberra.  #respect

In 2013 she was selected to play for the school's first team (U/18), even though she was only 15 at the time.  The games this season were very tough and the team did not do so well, but she was always there, playing her heart out.

At the end of each year the hockey association has an indoor league which TC played in.  It was during her first season that she managed to get a hat trick of goals from penalty corners.  I don't know who was most impressed - she or her daddy (who was, by now, dancing around).

The 2013 indoor season started very good with them winning all but one of their games in the first half of the season (second half starts in Feb).  There were times when they fielded a team with less players than their opponents but still won.  TC is starting to make a name for herself as a penalty corner specialist - other teams are starting to mark her.  It was during one of these games that a defender tried to tackle her and ended up getting the ball on the lips - ouch!  But that's hockey.

Personal

As parents we were worried how she would adapt in a new country with a new environment.  TC did well.  So well in fact that she was selected to the school's Student Representative Council in 2013.  She made many good friends, often walking with them to school in the mornings.

She also managed to get herself a boyfriend or 2.  The latest one seems to be sticking around.  And, as luck would have it, he is also a South African.

TC has also kept up with some of her friends back in South Africa, which is good.  It seems as if it's true what they say about her old school:  friendships made there last forever.  What we have found is that connectivity is an important part of her social environment, and we actively support her as much as we can.  Internet at home is always on and her phone (iPhone) also has data.  This way she can connect to her friends and family at any time.  Her teacher at school would often tell her to get off the phone, not realising that it was easier for TC to search Google for information than to use the school's computers.  She just does this "technology thing" well - very naturally.

The college years

...to be written sometime in the future.

So, you see Thunderchild, you have accomplished so much that last 2 years.  Your mother and I are so very proud of you and cannot wait to see what more you are going to accomplish.  Just know that we'll be there every step of the way.

And, remember, your daddy loves you.

I dream of a hat trick

Sunday, 25 November 2012

This was one of those days that a parent will remember forever.  You see, Thunderchild's smile went around her ears.

But let me take you back a little for some history.  TC loves to play hockey - has done since she was 5 (she's 15 now).  To play would lift her spirits and see her bouncing around the room.  The position she plays and has for so many years now is that of a defender, and a fearless one at that.  She just goes into a tackle with everything she's got.  But being in that position generally means you don't get to score very much.

She is lucky that this year she got to play indoor hockey.  Indoor hockey is played on a field about a quarter of the size of a normal hockey pitch.  Some of the rules are different and the time per half is 20 minutes.  But playing this version of the sport (at 6 to a side) you get to play different positions, not just back.

So, Sunday comes and they're ready for the game.  TC had previously been taking shots at goal during the penalty corners but never scored.  Today was different.  The team is awarded a penalty corner and TC is called up to the 'D', ready to take the shot.  The ball is sent to her, she drag flicks it and the keeper doesn't even smell it! She scores!  For the first time in years she's managed to score a goal.  Even from where we're sitting (about 20 meters away) I can see that enormous smile.  My heart leaped in my chest.  The wife and I are so proud.

But TC's not done yet...

Second penalty corner and she gets the ball again.  But this time she stops it in the 'D' which means she has to take it outside and back in again - thank goodness for all those many hours (days?) spent doing yardstick drills.  She drags, she scores again.  What a beautiful shot.  It's then that I realize that if she gets another chance she'll be on a hat trick.  What are the chances?  From nothing to everything in the space of 10 minutes?

The 3rd penalty corner comes and she takes up her place in the middle of the group.  I think even the opponents knew she was going to get the ball.  It's passed in, TC gets it, drags....and hat trick!  I'm doing the rain dance.  My chest is so big I cannot see my feet.  I cannot believe it!  My daughter has scored an amazing hat trick.  Her passion for the game has finally paid off.  She'll remember this moment for the rest of her days.

Shame, I must have made a bit of scene because one of the other players asked her if "that" was her dad.

That game on Sunday was such a confidence booster for her.  It was just what she needed.

Well done TC, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.

First Week in School in Australia

Well Thunderchild, your first week in school in Australia has come to an end.

You were a little nervous in the beginning, but true to your form, you made friends very quickly.  You also look so good in your new Amaroo School uniform.

Thunderchild and her mom

Of course, after the first day or two you reckoned that the level of maths was too low for you.  Your teacher also said he would recommend you moving to a higher grade.  Let’s hope that happens.

School here starts at 9:15 am, 2 hours later that you are used to.  I still get up at 4:30am, but you only surface about 7:45, very slowly.  Of course, you only go to bed a lot later as well.

Apparently they are starting a hockey club there now – you’ve already signed up (well, dear reader, what did you expect?).  Just a few more players and you’ll have a team.  It’ll be a tough year for you, but I’m sure you’ll guide your team correctly.  Your experience should see you through.

So, TC, your new adventure has started - time for you to make a difference.

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" - Sting

So, I'm tucking in Thunderchild the other night and, as usual, we have a quick chat.  I mention to her how nice it was to see the smile go from ear to ear that morning.  You see, her school (the best in South Africa) offers hockey as a subject - how cool is that!  That day she had Hockey Academy again and was excited as always:  put a hockey stick in that child's hands and she becomes a different person.  Shame, she was ready much earlier than usual and was already waiting outside for her mother to take her to school.


I mentioned all of this to her and she said I mustn't make a big deal of it.  How can one not?  Which parent would not be happy with a bouncing, sunny and happy child?  She had a spring in her step that day.  I then ask a bit about her day and what happened and I get told:  "Don't worry.  You don't need to know".  That hit me.  I'm desperately trying to keep the channels of communication open and she blows me off.  Then she dropped the bombshell (I get a feeling this had been coming for while now):  I must please not rub her back in the morning and sing to her before she wakes up.  I've been doing this for the past 10 years, and NOW she wants to stop.  So, I'm hurting a little at the moment.


Had a chat with her mother this morning about it and she says I must just accept it.  TC might be going through a difficult time (apparently it's worse for girls) but she'll be OK in a few years.  "A FEW YEARS!!!!", my brain screamed.  "But she still loves you", says the wife.  I guess I should not complain.  I am now not to push any issue or topic, I get told, but should wait for it to come from her side.  That means that I had better be available when it arrives.


Oh well, such is the life of a parent of a teenager.


Take care TC.  Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

Thunderchild and the Masked Crusader

“Dad,” she says as I enter the room, “I need to talk to you”.  Immediately I’m on my guard.  WTF?  What happened?  When?  What’s the problem? You know, all those strange thoughts that go through a parent’s mind when their child wants to “talk”.

“OK, tell me.  What’s up?” I say, expecting something bad.

She looks me straight in the face and says sternly,

.

.

.

“I’m Batman!”

Where do these children get these ideas from lately?  It seems as if the older she becomes, the wittier she gets.  She is so quick lately.  She pulls, and catches, her mother with the same trick.  However, “mommy dearest” decides to get her back.

So, a day or so ago they’re on their way to school again.  “TC, I need to talk to you”.  Now, I need to explain something about Thunderchild.  If you say these words to her she immediately becomes worried and withdraws a little.  “But I need you to relax first”, her mother continues.

A few minutes later, “Are you relaxed yet?  Can I talk to you?”.

“Yeesssss???” TC says, a little fearful.

Straight faced mom turns to her and says those immortal words … “I’m Batman!”

Gotcha!

Charity the Stripper

So, Thunderchild has this Halloween bowl into which coins are deposited each time she lets rip with a few choice phrases that might be seen to be inappropriate in polite company.  But, as mentioned, this is a bowl, so it’s easy to take coins out again.

The other day as she’s getting into the car for her mother to take her to school I say to her, “Stop taking money out of the bowl and then putting it back again.  You should give the money to charity.”

“Charity?”, the 14-year old asks, “Is that the stripper you keep emailing be about?”.  And with that her mom totally packs up laughing and they’re off to school, leaving me standing there wondering what just happened.  I think I got nailed, big time!