Santiago

I had the idea of writing a few words about every member of my family, since they're the most important people to me. I will start with Santiago, my oldest son.

Santi is almost 12 (he was born on 15/May/1995). He was an exceptionally bright baby and that didn't change in his toddler years. Maybe because he spent a lot of time with adults (he was with my in-laws while me and Gaby worked), he spoke perfectly way before he was two. My grandma used to say that he was a gifted kid. I also believed that.

He's an extremely fast learner, so he gets bored and then becomes a pest in class. I was exactly like that, so I can relate. But there's something about him that I could never do: he seems to be good at any sport. He's a great soccer player (I stunk!), he also plays basketball and other sports very well. He skateboards, he does ski and snowboard, he swims, etc etc. He's good at everything. He loves his computer and he's learning to play guitar. At this moment, I'd say he plays better than me already. He just needs to learn a few more chords.

He has a temper too; many times he gets upset, and then yells at his siblings or talks back to us. He can say hurtful things, but to his credit, once he cools down, he feels sorry immediately. Soon he can't stand the guilt and comes to apologize to us, sometimes even crying. He's a good kid.

Santi might be the oldest kid, but he's also the one who misses me the most when I'm away. As independent as he wants to be, he needs his mom and dad around.

He loves playing guitar and listening to music, but hates singing (which is a shame, because he has a beautiful voice). But the one thing he loves the most -probably the most important thing in his life- is soccer. He watches soccer, talks and thinks about soccer, and more importantly, plays soccer all year round. He's in one of the Waterloo teams, and to his delight, I'm one of the coaches. We've been together in soccer for five years now, and never had a problem. I know he loves having me as an assistant coach/manager/webmaster, and I love spending time with him on the road. It's one of my favourite things. Ever.

I haven't said a word about his (excess of) energy, and I don't think I can explain that. If you know Santi, you know it's beyond description. I will never forget when he first went to my brother's house. My brother thought he was a 5 year old tornado!

Sometimes I wonder why I'm so hard on Santi sometimes. I demand more from him than from the rest of the kids, and maybe put way more pressure on him that what he can (or should) handle. The only answer I have for that is that I believe Santi is the among the brightest people I know, and I expect so many good things from him that I just can't wait. I'm sorry, Santi; I see so much potential in you, I just wish I were smart enough to know how to exploit that.

Santiago is my best friend; I hope he still feels like that about me too (that won't last long, though, as he is almost a teen). I hope he knows how much I love him (not that I don't tell him, but just in case, I will make sure sure he reads this post too).

I see the world through your eyes, man. You're everything I never got to be. Star student, star athlete, great musician. Great kid.

I love my son. Does it show?

Be a Fan