Our son has just recently found the delights of football. It started with the rapid development of an encyclopaedic knowledge on all things football. The other night we did a quiz on World Cup finals. The question was can you name the venue, finalist and winner of each of the World Cup finals since 1930. I got about 50% correct. Unbelievably our son got 100%. Added to that he managed to name most of the top goal scorers, losing semi finalists and England’s performance.
I just can’t comprehend that level of memory recall. His brain encyclopaedia is not just in the form of a football edition. He has a mini library of encyclopaedias stored.
- British Kings and Queens edition: He can name the key details and order of reign of each British Monarch since King Harold (1066),
- Roman Emperors edition: Recently he managed to name 30 Emperors, the approximate reign date, key conquests and which had been murdered,
- Egyptian Pharaohs edition: Again he can name a frightening number of Pharaohs and key notoriety’s,
- Birds of Prey’s and Animals edition: Astonishing detailed knowledge of many living creatures. At his last school the teacher would ask our Son to help with the facts for lessons involving animals,
- Dinosaurs edition: Can visually identify a large range of dinosaurs. Can list things like which time period a dinosaur existed in, size and things like hunting/feeding style.
- Pokémon edition: Can identity virtually all the Pokemon, which region they exist in, battle styles and evolution family.
I can just about remember my car registration number….
Anyway back to football.
Unusually his interest in football has progressed to actually wanting to play the game. It would be oh so much easier for him if football was a game you could play by yourself. His dream is to become a football goalkeeper. He has started practicing in the garden. Unfortunately he is really self conscious and is always double checking to make sure nobody is watching him. As a result he prefers to practice when it is dark. We don’t have any floodlights and the garden is really dark. This makes the practice very difficult.
But a solution has been found. A football the lights up – it runs on batteries. It was really cheap but it is fantastic. It feels like a normal ball but just glows. Now we can practice all night long. It’s one of the best things we have ever bought. Just can’t remember where I bought it from…..
Awww, I hated that self conscious feeling when young. Hell… when older… now, even.. lol… I love my boys… nothing like seeing those dreams grow
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Yes it’s a nightmare. I went through the same. I blame it for me not being an international sportstars. Or was it the fact that I was crap. Anyway living your life through your kids dreams is way more fun…
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He is a fantastic kid. Excellent memory recall.
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Better than his old dads.
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Extraordinary 😊
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🙏
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Your son is truly gifted.
And it’s so great that you appreciate his great qualities but are equally cognizant of his shyness.
Impressed by your parenting skills.🏆
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Oh you are so kind. Thank you.
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Love that you’ve found a football that works for your son. It’s so much better when they get to see that we don’t have to do things the way everyone else does them. Playing football in the garden in the dark with a light up football sounds great fun.
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It is really fun. Unfortunately dog goes crazy in the dark.
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Haha! Crazy good? Or crazy bad? Does the dog have a light up collar? I have pictures in my head of a crazy dog in the dark, running round and getting under your feet.
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Do you know what I never thought about that. It’s such s great idea – going to get one. Thanks
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Such memory recall – so gifted!
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If only you were talking about me !!!!!!!! But he has and is. Thank you.
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Wow! I’m so impressed with your little guy 🙂
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Thank you so much.
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I wish I had your son’s memory! I walk up the stairs & forget what I’ve gone for! … Great invention the light up football… X
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It’s when you get halfway up the stairs and can’t decide if you are heading up or down.. x
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😂🤣🤪
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😁😊👻
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Ta very much.
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Impressive! It usually starts and ends with dinosaurs…
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Thank you. Can’t think of a better start or end than a Dinosaur
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Your lad is amazing! So glad you found a solution for playing football in the dark. Hubby has a torch on a band that fits round his head. He looks a bit like a cyclops, but it keeps his hands free when he’s working in badly lit areas.
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I tried that. It’s fine until you forget and try and head the ball……
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That’s funny!!!!
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It’s also very painful and leaves a lovely mark for a couple of days….
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I know I shouldn’t laugh but I can just think of the explanation as to how it happened. (Sorry) 🙂
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That makes me smile lots. Thank you.
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I’m pleased. My aim in life is to make at least one person smile a day. 🙂
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Well you do with me.
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:D. That’s good.
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I want your boy on our pub quiz team!
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He would enjoy that.
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Have you seen the hover footballs for indoors? My son had one when he was younger and it was fun for days when we couldn’t go outside.
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No but I’ve just looked them up. That’s one of his birthday presents sorted, thanks.
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I’ve been thinking that I need a research assistant of late … a young man with an encyclopedia in his head would be ideal! Tell him he’s got the job! You and he amaze me … that is all … you guys just amaze me!
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Thank you so much. I just mentioned that to him. Silly dad initially used the term intern. It’s a term hardly used in England. He looked at me oddly then said is that like a counter outlaw, is that someone who does bad things but within the law…. I think he would love working for you. Thank you so much for those really nice things you said. I am blushing.
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A ‘counter outlaw’ … yeah … I rather like it! I think he would broaden my horizons in wonderful ways. One cool kid you’ve got there!!!
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He is. As your intern he would certainly up your Pokemon knowledge….
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Ahhh … then he and my granddaughter, Miss Goose, would hit it off spendidly! She has, I think, a plushie of every Pokemon character that exists, and has every Pokemon game! Mario is more my speed 😀
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It’s a match made in heaven or a particular Pokemon region…
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Phenomenal, indeed
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You are an awesome dad.
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Awe thank you so much, you are too kind.
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I just read a section in the book called “The Library Book” about the Los Angeles public library. In that part she discusses a young adult with Asperger’s who is a Godsend to the Map Room because of his encyclopedic knowledge of all things map and atlas. I would love to see the niche your son will fit into perfectly as he grows up.
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You do hear these great stories. Yours is such a good one. I just hope we stop wasting the talent in all our kids.
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I think we should say “who says what’s Normal anyway!” Of course I was a kid many years ago when there were no diagnoses and kids were all kinds of “odd.” We just thought that was “normal.”
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Yes we are to keen to force everyone into the same mold.
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What a disaster. We value diversity in biology but not in people.
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That is unfortunately so true.
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Cool! We need that soccer (erm… foot) ball!
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Yes the football (soccer ball) is brilliant and prob is the battery is a bit fiddly to fit.
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That’s annoying, but hopefully doesn’t need replacement often.
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Given my diy skills hopefully very rarely.
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Oh, Blondie’s the same–she enjoys playing the game, but when I ask if she wants to try playing with a team she backs off. Maybe she and your son can play together some day–I know she’d love a light-up ball. 🙂
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That would be lovely.
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