A Date with the Boy with the Stick

Right now, one of the favorite pastimes of the eleven year old who lives in my house is his stick. He takes the stick (and yes, he has a lucky one) and ventures out on the front driveway for what he calls "practice".

His luckiest stick is actually part of an old curtain rod that was used in second grade as a crosier when he did his St. Patrick presentation. The curlicue thing at the top has been lopped off, transforming it from crosier to epee.

"Practice" involves a complicated series of moves, both one and two handed, where the boy swashbuckles around with the stick, fending off some unseen foe. I'm not sure why this kid, who is supremely self-conscious, feels the need to practice on the front driveway instead of in the back yard, where his battles would go unseen by the neighbors.

In the olden days, before a teenager lived at my house, I would have insisted on backyard practice. (I, too, am self conscious!). But somehow, the stick and all it entails seem to be preserving the "child" in that eleven year old - so practice continues out on the driveway (much to the dismay of the fourteen year old). At this point, I've decided I don't care what the neighbors think about the stick...that's a big step for me.

Well, this boy with the stick has been begging for fencing lessons since May and I've been putting him off, both because of time constraints and because I wasn't sure this was not another passing interest. But today, our local fencing center is having an open house with free introductory lessons, and the boy and I have a date to attend.

I'm taking a "wait and see" attitude with this. The boy may decide that the formal lessons are no fun and too disciplined, and may go back to his own sessions on the driveway. On the other hand, he may love the lessons and want to enroll - in which case we'll find the money and make the time...I've heard that Notre Dame has a pretty good fencing team!