'Ware Pirates

Fearsome pirates boarded another buccaneering ship and seized the treasure today at a small farm in South Africa. Crew missing presumed thrown overboard and no hope of recovery fro the treasure, which has mostly been eaten. No lives lost however, assure local law enforcement officials investigating aftermath of the feeding frenzy.

In other news: our son is now officially nine. How did that happen? Nine is the threshold of leaving behind the fantasy land of earlier childhood and getting to grips with the world and how it works. Just nine can slip between both worlds still, but reading stories seems to be taking the place of make believe play in exercising the imagination. Nine recognises that girls are human too and even worthy of being invited to a boys birthday party (the last two birthdays were boys only, with the exception of his sisters). Nine can have long conversations on the phone with friends and family ringing to say Happy Birthday. Nine can saw wood and sew, write and send out his own invitations to the party and decide on the guest list. Nine is pretty cool.

I had a preview of next year as some of my son’s older friends, though taking part in the treasure hunt, were less than absorbed in the story and make-believe. Next year I need to find a new way of engaging their interest – the story treasure hunt that has served me so well for the last 5 years, needs a revamp if it is to survive the ‘double figures birthdays’, some sort of constructive activity, building things perhaps. Has anyone with slightly older children got any tips? What do you do for birthdays – still a party or do you give those up in favour of an outing with one or two friends?

Despite those few rumblings of growing up everyone had a good time and noise levels were high!