This afternoon, I partially disassembled a vhs rewinder, broken dvd player and the fizzled-out control panel from a stationary bike, in preparation for the three big boys to finish taking them apart at Camp Invention this week. I can’t wait to see what clever things they will create.

Each child is supposed to bring a “take-apart” mechanical item – something broken or otherwise unusable, because they won’t be returned in working condition. We still have a few boxes of random electronics and other computer parts that were from our old house and/or my brother’s house, so this was good motivation to sift through boxes that I’ve been putting off doing for a year.

This camp looks like it will be a lot of fun, and I think it’s one that my brother would especially like for his son to attend. Nathan was the kind of kid who took things apart just to see how they worked, and I don’t think he ever bought a computer in a box, ready-made. He put them together himself from pieces here and there.

I thought about him a lot as I was prepping the take-apart items. The instructions said to loosen the screws, remove electrical cords and pry open any affixed parts so that the kids could spend time exploring the insides rather than wasting time trying to open the gadgets.

I also thought about him because my oldest nephew, the one attending this camp with the other two big boys, has been a pill all weekend. Sometimes I wish I could seek Nathan’s insight. I don’t want to seem like I’m always fussing at him, but he’s always getting into trouble. If the older boys are any indication, I know that part of it is just his age. Six-going-on-seven is a rowdy, energetic age with two gears: Overload and Sleeping. (Think of Back to the Future when Marty plugged in his guitar to Doc’s amplifier with all the gauges turned up to the max, and you have the general idea.)

Part of it, though, seems to be a lack of respect for my authority. That isn’t to say that he’s a perfect angel with everyone else – quite the contrary. I know that he misses Daddy and Dad/Uncle Lane, but I don’t even really think it’s a male role model issue, because he has several positive male role models who are active in his life, and he’s mouthed off or gotten in trouble for behavior with them, too. Nathan had plenty of trouble with his behavior, even back then, so at least it isn’t something new that he’s developed since Nathan died.

We’ll just keep working through it and try to capture those sweet moments when he is so loving and snuggly – which he can be! – and not dwell on the temper spikes and outbursts. I know every child is different, but I look at the 9yo sometimes and see a lot of him in these instances. There were times when he was six and seven when I wondered how we’d make it till the end of the week, much less fourth grade … yet, we did it. And we can do it again. Pray for us, please.