These are Gabe’s baby molars.
They decided to come out a few days apart.

I guess to me they signify the next phase of his growth – into the uncharted
waters of tweenhood.

Has it been 10 years? It was common practice for him to place his fallen
baby teeth under his pillow for the Tooth Angel to leave money the next day
but of late, when he did not find any he would say to me, “you forgot to leave
money under my pillow”.

It’s a well worn cliche but time doth fly like a G6 – and I realise that he’s
grown up so fast that I have to admit that there are some things
I really can’t control anymore.

He’s listening to all the hip stations like Fly FM, Mix, Red and regards Lite
as a boring old fart of a station.

We are constantly flipping between the choice of my or his stations in the car
when we drive(although I still have veto power at times). I’m appalled at
today’s music and the noise that pollutes the airwaves.

Then all of the sudden I realise that….OMG, I’m that old parent complaining
of the noisy music of today that makes no sense! Then I remember that I
did not make sense of any of the lyrics that came out of a Culture Club song.

Sigh.

It’s a common sigh to see kids at the dining table in restaurants busy at their
PSP or DS or iPadhand/phone tapping away furiously at their games and
Gabe is always lamenting that he’s the most unlucky kid in his class who has
neither any of these devices.(ok he does play the simple games on mum’s
handphone sometimes).

We resist getting into that trap but I wonder for how long. Already, since
getting him a Facebook account, he’s chalked up a 100 over friends and
is constantly playing Backyard Monsters, a hugely popular game
amongst his peers. Thankfully, he still loves his evening basketball/cycling
with the neighbourhood kids and we try to encourage his reading habit
with the books that I get at the Big Bad Wolf sale, a fantastic annual event
that I try not to miss as books for kids go for RM5-8 a pop!
The other day at Borders I saw a Horrible Science book I got at the sale
going at RM30 plus!

I have to face the fact that he’s beginning to form his own opinions -
he’s been very fussy about food of late and not wanting to venture into the
unfamiliar. I guess the next ten years will bring new challenges, new trials
and new discoveries.

Meanwhile he’s remarked that his incisors are a bit wobbly…

Advertisement