BY Jeff Ruffolo
NANJING, CHINA – I’m writing this entry from the Main Media Centre of the Youth Olympic Games, my seventh Olympic event, working as the Senior English Editor of the official website at www.nanjing2014.org. The Games end on the 28th and I’ll be home late on the 31st .
One of many things that I have missed about our twins is my private time every morning. I am an early morning person and Cris a night owl so I manage the twins every morning and let her sleep in until noon.
I am up and moving at the crack of dawn at 5:00 a.m. and Nick is the first to start stirring. This is Dad’s private time to be with the Reading Ruffolos and I have the kids on a gentle but firm schedule.
After a bottle and then a diaper change, the kids are up and moving as it’s their private play time. One of the things I do with Nick is pick up the morning paper, sit Nick on my left leg and I proceed to read the newspaper to him. Of course, he doesn’t understand a lick of what I am saying but I point out all of the pictures to him and he loves looking at the pretty Chinese women.
But what I am doing is familiarize him with the printed word. Having him feel the ink and the raised letters on his fingers while I emphasize the importance of one world headline to another. The entire world can be found in the pages of the printed daily newspaper with stories that transport us to faraway places.
Nick seems to be that type of person, hungry for news about the world around us.
Let’s hope he stays that way forever.
