A Good Kind of Weird

I'd had to drag the kids out of their beds 40 minutes earlier than usual in order to arrive early to work two days in a row.  That meant my usual 6:20 announcement to hustle out of bed had been moved to 5:40 a.m., awfully early for my two elementary school kiddos.  So I wasn't at all surprised when on the evening of the second long day as I was tucking the kids in for the night, Alex inquired, "Mom, are you going to get us up early tomorrow?"

I received a surprising reply to my chipper, "Nope."

"Awww..." both boys whined in unison.

It turns out they quite enjoyed the extra time before school started, because it meant they could fit in a chess match before splitting up to go their assigned classes.

Yeah, you read it right.  My seven and nine year old want to get up at 5:40 a.m. so they have time to play chess before going to class.

They did not get this from me.  Rather it is a combination of influences including Dad, Uncle Skye, and the long anticipated Navigator Pointe Academy after school chess club, which students can join in third grade.

Each Wednesday for six weeks, Adam "versed" (as he calls it) students of varying ages, meeting with varying degrees of success.  Some weeks he reported, "I didn't lose..." before admitting that he didn't win, either.  Other weeks, he gushed about having beat a junior high kid!  Now that chess is over, the only ready opponent is little brother.

They play every chance they get, including a game by fading daylight when dad took over the t.v. to watch the Priesthood Session of General Conference.  I just had to stop to take a picture as I headed out the door to go to a show with Arlee.

Though the consecutive days of arriving early happened last week, the boys still insist on the earlier departure time to make time for their game.  It's actually been pretty great to have an additional 30-45 minutes at school each morning to get ready and focused for the day!  Even better, though, has been the wiggle room that has made me less stressed to get to school on time.  If we take an extra 10 minutes, it just means 10 minutes less for chess.

I'm not going to lie.  I think it's weird.  I'm pretty sure I'm raising geeks.

But I'm certain it's a good kind of weird.