punishing boards for their intransigence

As faithful followers of this humble blog know well, these kids have a lot of activities. Liam plays baseball in the summer and basketball in the winter (as well as other basketball events/camps sprinkled here and there on the calendar). Max prefers soccer as his spring/early summer sport of choice. The older boys take swiming and tennis lessons in the summer, and they have both been involved in 4H. Max got a guitar for Christmas from his grandmother (thanks, Mom!), and he's now taking guitar lessons. Hmm, did I miss anything? Or anyone?

 

Ah yes. Henry. Poor, neglected child. He wants to do everything his older brothers do, but he's just not old enough yet (although I think he may be able to take swimming lessons this summer). He has preschool for a few hours, two days a week, but that's it. So what were his already overextended parents to do?

Actually, Henry (unwittingly) decided for us. He loves watching the endless iterations of the Power Rangers on Netflix (a hobby his dad both tolerates and absolutely detests), and he constantly tells friends, family members, squirrels, Lowe's employees, trees, strangers at the grocery store, and clouds that he's a kung fu master. So we thought he might enjoy and excel at some actual martial arts instruction.

Thus, Henry is now training at Plymouth Family Taekwondo. He loves it, and in addition to the benefits of the physical activity, we hope the lessons of discipline, respect, and responsibility incorporated by the masters there resonate with him. So far, so good.

During Henry's most recent session, Master Castle brought out the board-breaking equipment and gave Henry the opportunity to practice what he had learned. Henry didn't disappoint on his first attempt: