Dear Matteo,
You and I have both picked up our fall sports.
Soccer is winding down for you with the short days, so we only have weekend games and no practices. The Savage Squirrels took one good loss, but otherwise, we've been blowing out teams by 10 goals or more. I've joined another session of indoor soccer on Tuesday nights, and you've been a good sidekick, joining me for the games. You get to run around with friends at the recreation center on a weeknight while I'm on the field. I like to think you watch me play, too. You should. I won't last playing competitive soccer forever, and the decline is already real!
Instead of more classic team sports, you started up archery and pickleball. We play pickleball occasionally on Harstine Island, so you've had some practice, and I'm glad you're getting some wintertime reps. Archery is a whole new sport for you and something I've never tried before. You've become interested in bow hunting because we have friends who hunt deer and elk, and we're in the middle of hunting season, so they're out in the fields. Of course, for now, you're just shooting targets with a compound bow at the recreation center. I think you're getting good instruction because the coach has worked with a neighbor who has reached some competitive heights.
You've gotten so excited about bow hunting that you've started foraging for sticks of the right size and length, then spent hours in the garage whittling and shaping bows. I've had to use the blower to clean up all the sawdust and bark after your rounds of work! You've now made five "functional" bows out of those sticks and elastic bracelet string that can sling arrows 10–15 feet. Nothing that can hurt anyone, but a fun result. That neighbor who's been excelling in archery just gave you his old bow, so you'll be able to shoot targets at home soon after we get it calibrated by your coach. On a recent walk, I also helped you with practice quizzes covering questions that might come up when you get your hunting license. Somehow, you know more answers than I did. Maybe some of your YouTube time has been paying off?
Speaking of YouTube, wow, that is quite the vice. I saw it coming, having worked as a marketer around YouTube all these years, but there's nothing like seeing the impact on your own child. I'd heard about kids watching Minecraft gameplay, and now you're doing it. I'd also seen how Shorts had come online to create social-feed-like, fast-content behavior, and you can't get enough of them.
I have to credit Google. They figured out the hooks, including my YouTube TV subscription to access TV programming and especially live sports. Now I have to figure out how to unhook you enough from YouTube so it's not the first thing you see in the morning or the last thing you see at the end of the day. That time should be more sacred family time, so Mom and I have more work to do to ensure that. It starts with us. To be honest, we've made those early and late hours "us" time as a couple, but not always "we" time as a family. We need both, and we'll continue to find the balance.
We're going into a short phase of being out of our house as hardwood floors are getting installed in the bedrooms and all the floors are being refinished. So, we'll be bouncing between our normal Gig Harbor schedule and time on the island, where we can escape the construction. Shaking up our schedule will be a good thing on many fronts. And on the other side, I'm looking forward to helping you remake your bedroom and perhaps making more room for archery gear.
Love,
Dad