Robert is 9!

Spring is a season of birthdays for our family. And this week, Robert turned 9!

Robert came into my room the other morning (I was still in bed) excited to show me something he had just figured out on his Rubiks Cube. He bought this cube for himself a month ago. It came with no instructions. I see a Rubiks Cube and groan out loud about not knowing the tricks to solving it and not liking toys/games/activities like that. He sees something totally different. Robert sees a fidget toy, and a process. The process is fun. Fiddling around and seeing what he can do with it is fun. He's not working towards anything specific (like a solid block of color on every face). He's exploring. Every little discovery along the way is rewarding.

That is Robert.

So, as I lay in bed, he was thrilled to show me how something he thought was impossible the night before actually had a solution that he had stumbled upon.

Another example:

There's a game Bobby likes to play called Sandspeil. If you click the link, it takes you to an online version of the game. That's the WHOLE game. There is a selection of "materials" you can arrange in a big, empty box and see what happens. The objective is simply to explore, tinker, and fiddle. All the kids like watching and contributing, but Bobby and Robert can spend hours on it. I've seen them do it! The process is the fun bit. Robert is also a big fan of Minecraft, but not the survival mode. Just explore mode. Tinker, build, try things.

What else is Robert like these days?

I'm happy to report that he's still extremely responsible, and a pretty good strategist. He decided that he would do one of his weekly chores every day so they wouldn't all be waiting for him Saturday morning, ruining his favorite day off.

I'm happy to report he's a typical 9-year-old. He pesters his siblings, can relate any phrase or situation to one of a few bodily functions that kids find hilarious, struggles to balance his growing independence with a desire to have everyone do everything for him, and insists that everything is black or white or you simply didn't understand his question. He adores video games. Not just process-heavy games like Minecraft (explore) and Sandspiel, but some action/strategy games he's discovered on the websites they use at school. He had a meltdown last night because he accidentally closed out of a game before getting the "save" code that would allow him to return. He had just defeated a very difficult group of regenerating bad guys.

I'm happy to report he has friends. He's got a group of boys at school and a group of boys at church that he loves to spend time with. He doesn't often ask to see them outside of school or church, but I think that's more out of habit than lack of desire. Sometimes Robert tells me about their conversations and I just marvel at what's on their minds, and not on their minds, at this age. The Mothers and Sons group I started last year is still going. These boys love to get together. They have Cub Scouts together, too, which Robert has thoroughly enjoyed. He will need decide whether to join a new den/pack after his church den/pack disbands in January, and I'm wondering if it's the friends or the activities that keep him so engaged. Probably both. A couple of his school friends do Cub Scouts, too. Maybe he will want to join their den/pack. We will see.

I'm happy to report that overall he's a curious guy, looking for patterns, eager to figure out something new and show it to you, an avid reader, a talkative/friendly sort of fellow, and sometimes terribly generous and thoughtful.

I'm proud of him, like I'm proud of Alice. They are old enough to see how the way we choose to live is different from the way some of their friends and peers choose to live. They ask questions. They hold to their standards. They make hard decisions on their own every day and they learn from them. And they have fun. These guys sure know how to have fun.

Happy Birthday, Robert! Another fantastic year with you awaits. Let's go!