Talent? What Talent?

Efram has a nasty gash on the bridge of his nose. He got it playing football over the weekend. Today, he came home from school early because while playing.. yes, football.. two friends ran into each other and then into him. (Please don’t try and work out the logistics of this in your mind. You’ll only get a headache. I did.)  He went down hard on the concrete and has a bump the size of two golf balls. (Which begs the question: Why did I move to Seattle for my kids to play football on concrete? I could call the school and ask why they’re not playing on the grass field, but I fear that if I complain, they’ll just ban football.)

I know that there are some serious safety concerns with this sport.. but I thought those had to do with professional players and inadequate protection, not backyard (or concrete slab) football among a group of third graders. And why aren’t everyone else’s kids getting the shit knocked out of them?

At least the girls aren’t doing anything dangerous. This week Frances placed in the school talent show. She and her best friend, J., read Frances’ silly stories aloud. Or as J’s mother described them, “Frances’ version of ‘Who’s On First’.”

The girl was quite proud of herself. She came home and declared, “I may get my looks from Daddy, but my talent comes from you.”

I’m sure there’s a compliment in there somewhere. Right?