Liam gets a job

Yes, you read the title of that post right. Liam, age 7, now has a job at our local public library. A couple of weeks ago, I took Liam and Kalian to the library to kill a couple of hours there. And out of nowhere, Liam walked up to one of the librarians (who he knows and loves) and asked if he could have a job. And to her credit, she didn't just laugh it off. Instead, she started talking to him about what he'd like to do and when he'd like to do it.

Liam said he wanted to help put books back on shelves. She said that was something he could work up to, but instead suggested she needed help putting stickers on books (the ones where you stamp the date on). She wrote up a small contract and agreed to pay Liam 25 cents an hour.

And so, after a couple of phone calls, Liam went to the library for an hour and helped her. Jen and Kalian hung around, but everything seemed to go fine. And it was clear, when I got home that night, how proud he was.

Nothing epic, but just one of those reminders that somehow, despite our parental bungling, he's actually growing up and becoming his own, independent guy.

Liam Turns Seven

A two-week marathon of holidays and birthday parties came to end, at last, today, with Liam's birthday party at Albany Bowl. Because his birthday falls on Dec. 30, we go overboard making sure he doesn't feel like he's getting short-changed because of the proximity to Christmas. So, instead, he gets four parties: school, at Mickey's, at home with us, and then an official party party. He asked for a bowling party, perhaps remembering how much he enjoyed his fourth birthday party in Cambridge which was also a bowling party.

We had a phenomenal afternoon, bowling and playing arcade games. I'm not sure how much Liam was really interested in the bowling. But he was clearly delighted to be surrounded by friends. I was very happy for him. Happy birthday, buddy. I can't believe it's already been seven years.