9.26.2008

Presidential politics

There's something very interesting about Cameron. He is fascinated by presidential politics. Seriously. He's into this. During the primaries he would check the delegate numbers to see who was ahead. He's discussed how he thinks Obama can beat McCain because Obama beat Clinton. (And Cameron wanted Clinton to win) This week he told me he wants John McCain to win. Tonight he told me he wants Barack Obama to win.

I never tell him where I stand and that drives him nuts.

I discuss politics with Cameron in a Socratic way. I ask him why he supports the candidate. I ask him what made him come to conclusions. He is so desperate for me to leave this questioning process and agree to disagree with him. I'm a journalist and I try very hard to keep my opinions to myself and not let my opinions effect the way I help cover political news.

Tonight I let Cameron stay awake to watch some of the first presidential debate. He's desperately wanted me to help him learn more about each candidate (I'm thinking I need to find some kid news magazines). So I told him he could watch the debate to get a better understanding of where the candidates stand. He talked over most of the candidate statements. But he did listen to each man. During this time we had some really great six year old perspective. First, Cameron couldn't believe there's never been a black president. He went on to discuss Martin Luther King and how he was a leader. Second, Cameron started questioning why there is a president and why our country needs one. I asked him what he thought would happen if his school didn't have a principal. We talked about leadership and oversight. Suddenly Cameron started wondering what would happen if skateboarders were all over the place and the president decided that the skateboarders could only skate at a park. I guess you had to be there. I was so amazed to watch him analyze what a president does and which man is the right person to lead our country.

Pretty amazing.

So I put him to bed. Right before I left him, Cameron begged me once again to tell him who I am going to vote for. I once again told him I wouldn't. Cam told me I was making him sad. My silence is driving him batty. Poor kid. I guess being a journalist's kid is pretty rough.

9.21.2008

"He's got a strong foot"

My boy got props during his soccer skills during his game Saturday. I was pretty proud. For the first time, Mr. Cameron scored a goal. I was very proud. He's very proud. This was his third soccer game ever and he's starting to figure out his strength and finding ways to direct the ball. It's pretty cool to watch. What was even more fun was watching Cam celebrate when something went right with his team. I just loved it. It's thrilling to watch Cam play in a sport where he can feel really confident. Plus, he really gets to run and run and run.

After the soccer game we went to another football game. It was a little warm under the sun and Cam wasn't that interested since he had a big neighborhood birthday party to attend a little after the first half of the game. He had a blast.

I'll be honest. I'm exhausted. All of this running around for work and the additional running this weekend has left me exhausted. I took Sunday off to catch up on work and just not move around too much. Well, just not as much. Cam is on a quest to run or walk a half mile through October - it's a fitness challenge at school. So he and I are spending time walking and running together. He's got five miles down so far. Eight to go!

9.06.2008

Cam's first soccer game (AKA I'm an official soccer mom)

Cameron had his very first soccer practice and game today. I told myself that Cam wouldn't play soccer... The stigma of soccer mom and all the other things that come with that. Not to mention watching soccer reminds me of how bored I was watching the games when my brother played when I was a kid. Anyway, I bit the bullet after Cam had so much fun playing with his team. I'm the official team mom which is kind of funny. I don't have to do much and I bought a big 2 gallon jug for water. To make it even cooler, I bought Spongebob Squarepants paper cups. The team was VERY excited.

Cam ran and ran and ran. He understand the importance of defense and BOY he was in the mix the entire time they ran up and down the field. He was disappointed he didn't get the ball enough, but I know he'll catch on in time. I was proud and I'm excited about our team. The parents are very cool.