Sunrise, Sunset

My kids are growing up. In some ways this is the most unsurprising thing in the world. I mean - kids grow, right? You feed them, water them, give them a multivitamin daily and voila! It's like plants, except that in this house plants rarely survive a fortnight and we've kept children going for nearly seven years now.

But then there are what seem like these monumental leaps and you find yourself wondering... how did that happen? For instance, tonight Sophie beat me at checkers - really beat me. The last time I played with her, maybe just before Christmas, she also won, but it was because I coached her to it, letting her try out different moves to see their consequences, walking into a few double-jumps just to see her face light up when she made them.

But tonight it became clear quite early on that things were different. She made her moves confidently and mercilessly took advantage of my mistakes. She was taking no prisoners, and by the time I adjusted my strategy from motherly support to self-preservation, it was too late. I tried to win and she kicked my ass, fair and square. She then went on to destroy Nathan, and I have no doubt that she would have taken Stephen down too, had he not been conveniently making dinner.

Then it was Nathan's turn. My eldest has recently taken to calling me 'Kristina' about as often as he calls me mom. I'm sure that when we're out together in public, those who don't know us think I'm the nanny or the step-mom, or maybe if they're generous, the older sister (Chya. Right.). It actually amuses me quite a bit, having my son address me by my first name. To this day, I'd lay money that I've ever called my mom by her first name - my mind's tongue trips over just thinking it.

Anyway, his game of choice was chess. We set up the board and he moved first ("white always moves first, mom"). I then made my first move and was promptly informed that my strategy was subpar. This was no surprise to me - I'm definitely a dilettante at the game, I know how the pieces move and that's about it. Nathan, on the other hand, is in his second year of chess club and has apparently been paying attention.

My strategy didn't get much better. I was on the defensive for most of the game, and though I ended up winning it was mostly by luck - in fact, I had him checkmated and didn't realize it at first. So while I achieved a narrow victory, it clued me in to the fact that I either need to do some reading or my days of chess supremacy (against a six-year-old boy) are definitely numbered.

So what started out as what I'd call "Let's kill some time before dinner," and the kids would call "Mom, stop murdering those guitar chords and come play with us," ended up as one of those before/after moments. Before was a time when I called the shots and knew with reasonable certainty who the winner would be. And after... well after is when the real fun begins.