Happy 16th, WAKWIR

Hello and welcome to a Sweet 16 Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is March 26th.

Yes, folks, your favorite Wannaskan Almanac Kid Writer-in-Residence (WAKWIR) turns sixteen today! Maybe I should start calling him the WATIR – Wannaskan Almanac Teen Writer-in-Residence. Or perhaps I should pass the job along to the Fourth Grader who still believes that a dollar a paragraph pay is a pretty good deal.

If you’re a regular WA reader, you may have noticed that the current WAKWIR hasn’t been blogging much. His last post in which he shared the adventures of his 3^rd annual camping trip with his dad was in October. He’s been telling me for a while now that he’s just too busy now to blog. Not only has he been busy logging driving hours and learning how to drive a manual transmission (not even The Oldest and Senior 2.0 know how to do this, so kudos to him), but he’s been really committed to his studies this year. (Who am I kidding? That’s mom fluff talk right there. He keeps his grades up, but how “committed” or “studious” he actually is probably up for debate among his teachers.) This winter, he took on not one, not two, but four extracurricular activities. Uffda. This weekend, for example, he’s at the Great Northern Regional for robotics in Grand Forks. The last one was held this time two years ago before the-global-event-of-which-we-do-not-speak.

In order to do it all, I advised (warned) him to keep track of everything on his Google calendar. To my amazement – he did! This just goes to show how much a kid can mature in a year or two. This is the kid who is known in our family for being daydreamy and forgetful. There’s so much imagination in that kid’s brain, if he’s ever gone missing, I only need look in the space between his ears to find him.

To be fair, when the Senior 2.0 was in 9^th and 10^th grade, he was the kid known for losing things. But the WAKWIR was known for forgetting things. “I forgot” would have been a perfect tattoo on his upper arm. So, it’s nothing short of amazing that he’s been able to stay on top of his academics and all of his extracurricular activities, and two state hockey tournament band trips, and a girlfriend.

Yes, that’s right, too, folks. The WAKWIR is closing in on a one-year anniversary with his GF.

This is my third sixteen-year-old, so, what can I say? That it leaves me breathless? That it seems like they are children forever and then they hurry and grow up so darn fast it makes me wish I’d done what other mothers do and hung up all of their school pictures from Kindergarten to present day?

When I was a kid, I remember my father telling me that time sped up the older a person got. I thought it was crazy talk because my then-self was agonizing over the minutes and hours it was taking to grow up. Now, thirty years after my own Sweet 16, here I am with one in college, Senior 2.0 about to graduate, the WAKWIR about to get his driver's license, the Fourth Grader in the double-digits phase of her life and the baby of the family demanding equal rights and the same opportunities as his siblings. (This includes playing Minecraft and getting his turn at “being the boss of everyone.")

I’m pretty blessed, though, so I don’t want to sound too whiny about it. Maybe wistful is a better word. Wistful is how I’m feeling. I find myself thinking about that other tattoo that could go on any one of my kids’ arms “No regerts.” What are my regrets?

Life is a mash-up of experiences. I heard a woman say once, “There’s no such thing as self-confidence. There’s only doing and learning.” Or – in Yoda’s words, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

So, on this sixteenth birthday – at the robotics regionals – I will try. I will try to be present, both physical and mentally (hey, I know where my son’s gets his daydreaminess.). I will cheer him on and celebrate this most amazing, curious, introspective, funny sixteen-year-old I know.

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

1995 - The Schengen Agreement enters into force

Within the Schengen Area, which encompasses most of Europe, regular border checks have been abolished.

1991 - Four South American countries establish Mercosur

Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay were the founding members of the Southern Common Market.

1979 - The Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty is signed

Egypt's President Anwar al-Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the treaty, which ended 30 years of war between the two countries.

1975 - The Biological Weapons Convention comes into effect

The treaty bans the development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. It has now been ratified by most countries worldwide.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1947 - Chairman Joe, Wannaskan Almanac founder, The Raven founder, writer and poet

1944 - Diana Ross, American singer, actress

1941 - Richard Dawkins, Kenyan/English biologist

1925 - Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, conductor

1874 - Robert Frost, American poet, playwright

Remembering You

1984 - Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea

1973 - Noël Coward, English actor, playwright, composer

1902 - Cecil Rhodes, English/South African businessman, politician, founded De Beers

1892 - Walt Whitman, American poet, author

1827 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German pianist, composer

Have a happy day and make it a great Saturday. 

Kim