Absolute Franksy-ness: What we do when we're waiting

This has been for the most part an anticipatory week. We have been anticipating the coming break and, of course, the arrival of grandparents. Are we 100% ready for their arrival?

The highlight of the week was seeing a production of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" by The Globe Theatre Company. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because of the opportunities we have just a few minutes from our home.It was my first time to the Abu Dhabi theatre which lies at the end of a long promontory in the shadow of one of the tallest flagpoles in the world. I wanted to get to the theatre early because It was an open seating affair, which is how it should be with the Globe. I thought I planned things out carefully. We parked at the mall, which is a little more than a kilometer from the theatre. That way we were guaranteed a spot and would avoid the mad crush of traffic departing the show. I needn't have put so much thought into the affair. It seemed the closer we got, the more empty parking spaces we found. Even though my daughters weren't wearing the most comfortable of shoes, they never complained or criticized me. They simply laughed.Julie prepped our children for the play by reading the story from E. Nesbit's Wonderful Stories of Shakespeare, so they were primed for the plot and could focus on the language and performance of the play. It was a great performance, the best production of that play that I've ever seen, but what was just as satisfying for me was watching my kids enjoying the play. When it was all done, Lucy complained at the soreness of her cheeks from laughing so hard. We were out a little late on a school night and paid for it with an added quantity of grumpiness the following day, but it was more than worth it.

Liam conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

The biggest thing to happen was Liam turning fourteen this past week. On Saturday he had some friends over for video games and pizza (you don't have birthday parties when you're fourteen--you just kind of hang out). I remember fourteen being a kind of monumental year for me. I also remember it being an incredibly confusing and insecurity-inducing time. At fourteen I think I was pretty aware of what a geek I was and that was at a time before the Internet when it wasn't cool to be a geek. When I look at my son and the confidence and competence he exudes, I can't help but but see the contrast between the two of us. I genuinely enjoy his company and look up to him. He may still be trying to figure out what he wants to do, but he knows who he is and in this world of distraction that is a becoming a rare thing indeed.