The pride of parenthood

Floris and Willem-Jan, 2000

So, tomorrow Floris will come and visit me. He is sixteen now, and in the meanwhile taller than me - something I never imagined could happen. He's been travelling independently through the Netherlands for a bit, for Magic-the-Gathering tournaments to be precise, though usually in company. Still, to find your way on your own at an airport for the first time and get into the right plane is not trivial even for an adult, let alone for a sixteen-year-old, eight foot four or not.

I will pick him up at Manchester of course. He's arriving quite late when the trains do not go very frequently any more, so unless we get lucky and he arrives early (which does happen from time to time) we will be in York only after 1:00 on Saturday morning - 2:00 for him, coming from an earlier time zone. We'll have to see how that works out.

Floris and Willem-Jan, 2011

Originally the plan was that Willem-Jan would visit here also, in November, but it turned out the most likely period, at the end of the first quarter (he's studying at the good old U of Twente), was not feasible. For Floris it looked more questionable at first if he could come at all, but he's in his final high school year and has exams this week and the next, with no lessons in between. There will be only one exam left next week, on Wednesday; but as that is an English listening test, spending the weekend in England is surely the best preparation one could imagine. His English is quite good anyway, better than mine at that age I am pretty sure. Spending many hours playing massive multiplayer games, not to mention Magic, does have its advantages.

It is quite possible you never heard of Magic the Gathering. It's a trading card game. That is a type of game in which you play with your own deck of cards against an opponent who has also built his own deck, which typically contains different cards. Cards interact in very intricate ways; the purpose is to defeat the cards your opponent plays. There are tens of thousands of cards to choose from - but they cost money, and we're talking serious sums here. The better cards are more expensive. There is also a huge second-hand market. It boils down to the fact that the more money you spend, the better your deck is - and so the more likely you are to win, although luck and skill also come in. Other games of this type which used to be popular are Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon, but Magic is way larger and very much alive. In the cafe where I play bridge every week, on another evening there is a weekly Magic tournament, and whereas the average bridge player age is increaing by almost a year every year, the Magic community is young and vibrant. I do not like this type of game myself, but I will be the last one to deny that there is a lot of creativity and dynamics in the community, and that does make it attractive.

Willem-Jan, Floris, and the man in the middle, 2013

In any case, Floris is an avid and fairly good Magic player. It is his main and at times only interest, occluding minor matters such as school. Certainly walking, bicycling or sports of any kind are not on his radar. It will be an interesting challenge to come up with a reasonable programme for the weekend. At least Saturday is Beyond Monopoly! day so that's taken care of, and in the evening I have booked the other pantomime I mentioned before (Aladdin and the Twankeys). For the rest we'll see. Showing him the Yorkish night life might be an option, but they are quite strict on age control here.

Yes, I am proud of my sons! It is a never-ending wonder to see them grow up. The point where I had much influence on that process is long past; I can only hope that I helped instill some lasting values. They make their own choices now, and though I do not always think they are wise choices, they seem to work out at least reasonably well for them. The world would be a boring place et cetera.