They literally have attention spans that can only be measured by the sorts of equipment required to build the Large Hadron Collider.
As they describe their experiences, in getting to this glorious point, I try hard not to allow my brain to take me back to the same era - Grade 6.
The eldest is going though the last remaining days of Primary School and there is lots of pomp and ceremony interspersed with good advice and re-assurances that support is around, you just have to ask.
Whom to ask and about what is not quite apparent - but you get the idea.
School is not an easy place, its supposed to be the safest place to become correctly prepared for the world at large. Each child is raised carefully by a combination of the school and the parents with both complimenting each other.
Well that's the theory anyway.
I'm the last person to be preaching this, I was a terrible student. There are things I did at school that still can not be told in public because once it gets out or on the Internet it will get out of hand. I did not fulfill the true definition of school until much later in life.
But now that the eldest has completed junior school he apparently is ready for the next set of challenges.
What about his parents are they ready ?
When they are babies you look at them without worrying about future problems - that will all come later. When they are babies their needs are simple (well that's how I choose to remember it)
Feeding - Burping - Cleaning up vomit - you get the idea.
The problems are solvable, Do we have enough nappies ? Do we have the house quiet enough for them to sleep ? Is it the middle of the night and do they need comforting ? Is the food in the baby or on the floor and wall ?
See ! All solvable.
Now that he's a teenager it changes. I mean - I hope he can clean up his own vomit but that's the least of my worries.
Have I kept up with the latest trends ? Do I even know what's cool right now ?
Do I have a computer / console that will play the latest games? nothing worse than having old technology apparently. And the fact that he has to share it with the rest of us constantly stuns him.
Have I or the beloved ensured he leaves the house dressed at least semi decently ? No Son that tracksuit and top are not OK you look homeless. You have a wardrobe full of nice clothes , go and try again.
And no you can not eat last nights pasta/rice for breakfast (well not in front of your mother). You have to have a decent breakfast.
All these problems get easier to solve once you have seen them a few times but then - Unexpected ones arise as if he has decided the game is too repetitive and needs new boundaries.
It's like getting up in the middle of the night - You know you are going to stub your toe , you just don't know when or on what.
So as they all march off the stage, their certificate grasped in their fists, I hope their parents are ready.....
