Cold Case In Ellyson » teens http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com conversations with susan anderson Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:15:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 My son is an Iron Man http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/2010/08/23/my-son-is-an-iron-man/ http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/2010/08/23/my-son-is-an-iron-man/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:58:08 +0000 admin http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/?p=196 Well, he did it. I don’t know quite how or more importantly, why, but he did…My 13-year-old son who doesn’t swim laps and hasn’t had a bike since Hurricane Ivan ruined it in 2004 completed a seven-day Iron Man Triathlon challenge. He biked 112 miles, swam 2.4 miles and ran a marathon in a week at the club where we belong. Now since he’s my oldest, I haven’t witnessed the changes of child to man before, but I feel like it must be beginning. He showed a determination and resolve I’ve never seen in him. My hope is that the confidence he feels now will carry over into his football, baseball and schoolwork. Not that he’s ever been a slouch at any of these, but perhaps he’s approaching, step by step, a new level. All challenges begin with a first step. Some of us forget it’s just that easy…

So why did he do it? He can’t articulate the reason. Not for a chick or to get (more) fit…he doesn’t know why. But the thing is, he doesn’t have to.

]]> http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/2010/08/23/my-son-is-an-iron-man/feed/ 0 What would Aristotle think of texting? http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/2010/05/03/what-would-aristotle-think-of-texting/ http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/2010/05/03/what-would-aristotle-think-of-texting/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 12:45:50 +0000 admin http://blog.coldcaseinellyson.com/?p=150 When you have a teenage son and one nearly there, you find that communicating with them is not how it was. Some of our best conversations have happened phone to phone. It’s sad, in a way, but I’m grateful that to have some way of getting through to them.

After they head out to school, I send them a text, some words of wisdom, that I hope they carry with them throughout the day. Today I quoted Aristotle, one of my favorite philosophers: “Quality is not an act. It is a habit.” I chose that particular one because yesterday my oldest suffered a humbling defeat on the mound. There were tears (not new but also not a frequent occurrence), threats of quitting pitching (never heard that before), followed by a mumbled four-letter-word I pretended not to hear. I think he hit his nadir this weekend, and I hope Aristotle’s texted words will remind him of what he must do.

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