Quarantine Diaries... The life of a 9 year old Boy

Roddie seems to be doing just fine in this lock down.  I worry that maybe he's not, but then, today it occurred to me that maybe the life of a 9 year old boy really is as simple as it appears to be.

Today, he got up around 6:30 and because I won't let them watch TV until 7:30 (encourage them to sleep or read) he decided he would jump on his day's school assignments so he would have the maxim amount of free time (as if it were in short supply these days)  He has reported in regularly on his progress and is now all but complete for the day.

Yesterday he complained for the first time since this began 6 weeks ago that he was bored - in more typical times, this is a frequent complaint of his.  In more typical times, he's pretty busy with sports, after school, and other family commitments.  In typical times, so are his buddies so it's not always easy to gather up and play, and Rod is not one for honing his craft solo, and so we hear "I'm bored".  I'm not sure if it was acceptance or ambivalence to the current situation that has kept this complaint quiet, but in any case, there it was yesterday. 

So, I finished up my work a bit early and took to the driveway, yard and family room with him.  We first did some online exercise app that his school recommended, followed by my latest street hockey lesson and a few dozen wiffle ball hits to him in the backyard.  (I'm not much of a pitcher, especially in the wind, much to his chagrin).  I'm clearly not the preferred playmate - I can't run or hit as fast or hard as he can, and he doesn't care for my hug offence in hockey, but he was happy to have someone to play with (boss around?) and I was happy to run around outside for a bit. 

When we came in, he enjoyed a favorite dinner of hot dogs and I handed him off to Matt for some favorite "Guy Shows" on TV and a "snuggle read" before bed.  The end to a perfect (partial) day.

The perfect day, in his mind and these times was Sunday... bacon for breakfast, visit to the local pump track/mountain bike trails, family round of crokinole until well past bedtime.

All of this has led me to conclude that maybe life really is that simple, and perhaps I missed out on never being a 9 year old little boy.  That, and I really need to up my game on the outdoor sports.