Robbie Returns

So I'm getting ready to go to TKD last night and Robbie says "Hey Mom, I'm going to go with you."

!

Robbie used to do TKD. In fact, he and Eli started before I did, back in October of 2004. They did great for a while, then they started to drag their feet about it and complain. They quit right around last March or April. Robbie'd gotten to his green belt; Eli to his orange.

And now Robbie wants to go back!

So he did. He didn't get out his unform, but wore his white belt with his regular clothes. And it actually worked out really well. The new family was there, Mom, Amy, and two kids,Kaitlin and Cole, so I had Robbie work out with them and show them the step side-kick. He liked that. He also remembered Chun Ji (though his stances were pretty sloppy).

"I'm going to keep going," he told me. "It's getting boring to be home. And I want to get strong."

I certainly hope he keeps with TKD this time, but I'm going to let him decide. No sense in me dragging him there again. But if he wants to do it, and is willing to take instruction, that'll be great.

I'm facing that tricky parental balancing act: how much should you push them, how much should you let them take the initiative. My favorite activity at that age, and the only physical activity that I was pretty good at, was riding. And my parents did NOT push that at all. They disliked horses and the horsey scene. So maybe there's something in not pushing.

When we got back, before his bath, Robbie stood out in the hall in front of the mirror with his shirt off. "I'm buff. I'm buff," he said.

He didn't spar during that section of the class. Instead, he took pictures and a movie with my camera. I'll post them tomorrow!