TAKING STOCK

Life is busy, and it is easy to lose track of our own or other's growth or change. However, children are a great guidepost by which to measure progress because they go through such interesting and often fleeting stages.

This week, I took stock of two very special children - Cate and Nicholas.

Cate is now four and a half - make that four and three-quarters- years old and has had tremendous growth in the past year on all fronts. Cate can read books and is constantly sounding out words she sees written in magazines, prints on our walls, or even food packages. Cate can write her name and simple words by using phonics.

Cate continues to astound me and others in the coordination department. She was recently invited to join a "Premier" group of children in a soccer development program, and I have no doubt that she will become a great, multi-sport athlete.

Before I had Cate, I always said, "If I have a daughter, I hope she is a confident, poised woman like Mia Hamm" (who happens to be the world's best female soccer player of all time). Cate is on her way.

Most importantly, Cate's personality continues to take form, and I am constantly astounded by how much she and I have in common. Cate is a fierce critic of herself and is a perfectionist in everything she does. For example, the other day Cate knocked a magnet of the Barca stadium off the fridge by mistake. She knew that this was a special magnet that I bought in Spain, and she quickly ran upstairs to her room after she realized what she had done.

I followed her upstairs to comfort her. When I found her, she was visibly upset and kept repeating, "I am so clumsy." I quickly corrected her and told her that she was anything but clumsy and that accidents happen. After some distraction, I was able to help her move on.

While I appreciate the desire to do one's best, I have also witnessed firsthand the toll that perfectionism can take on one's self. I hope to help her become more comfortable with failing because life is littered with failures.

Nicholas is a creative and emotive young man, who also continues to astound me.  He is the most passionate child - make that person - whom I have ever met. His interests continue to evolve, and he looks within rather that to peers or the mainstream for his interests.

Currently, he is a scholar of all things soccer-related. This year, he did his Arbor independent project on the history of soccer, and it was, in my humble opinion, the best of the bunch of some very good projects.

Nicholas continues to love drawing and art.  Below is an amazing self-portrait that he drew at school.

Nicholas is also fascinated by the world at large and different countries and cultures. He may still have trouble pronouncing his "Rs," but he can pronounce multi-syllable, vowel-deficient Polish or other Eastern European names without difficulty.

One day, Nicholas found out that his babysitter had a great grandparent who was from Poland. He asked her if they could go on the internet to print out Polish words. That afternoon, he spent several hours writing out common Polish words and their English definitions. There are no Polish schools in Portland, but we hope to channel his energies into Spanish classes.

Nicholas' current goal is to become "a soccer player who eventually goes to play in Spain or somewhere else in Europe." Afterwards, he hopes to become an architect who builds soccer stadiums because, as he put it, "I love soccer, drawing, and building things. An architect seems like the best job."

Nicholas also continues to make strides in music. He began playing ukulele 3 years ago, and he is now playing mandolin.  He has surpassed me and Kathleen in competency, and he loves to perform. Recently, he and his teacher put on quite the show at Arbor for the whole school. I could not be prouder of the young man he has become.

I am always astounded when I step back and take the time to appreciate the growth of these kids. They are growing up so fast, and it makes me sad to think that they will leave one day or that I will no longer be here to see them keep growing and changing. Times like tonight remind me how lucky I am to be their dad.

After Manchester City won its first Premier League title in over 40 years last year in the last minute of the season, the great soccer commentator Martin Tyler exclaimed succinctly "I swear you'll never see anything like that again... Drink it in!" If I were drinking to celebrate Cate and Nicholas tonight, I would be a very proud and drunk dad...