The Kindergarten Tape

Okay, this beautiful photo is actually from New Years' Eve, but Seth's got all the updated ones on his camera and he's not home so this will have to do for now. Here's Myles ringing in the new year with his buddies.

What prompted me to post, however, is that I got on the computer and saw that Seth did download some new videos to youtube, so here's a link to Myles' swimming. Only 30 seconds, but mom, this one's for you.

I've also been meaning to update the blog with a story that happened a few months ago. I've already told it to lots of folks, but it's so beautiful that I wanted to write it down. After the new year, I attended a kindergarten information session put on by the city schools where we heard from the principals from each of the city elementary schools. As I think I noted in my last blog, it made me think of my dad who was an elementary school principal while I was in elementary school (at a different school). I was in the middle of this great meeting, and became totally overwhelmed with emotion, thinking about my dad and how excited he would be to see Myles embarking on his education. There are so many questions I want to ask him as we prepare for kindergarten, and I guess I was kind of feeling cheated. With my dad gone, there are so many questions I'll never be able to ask him, questions that weren't even on my radar screen when he died. I really miss his wisdom and presence in our lives. So I called my mom to tell her all of this.

A week or so later, my mom called and asked if we have a tape player. Why yes, we are so modern that we actually have one in our car radio, if you can imagine that. She said she had a tape she was planning to bring when she came for a visit. It was a tape that she didn't even know she had, and she found it while cleaning out a back room in the basement. It's a tape of my dad speaking on a radio show when he was an elementary school principal. Among the topics he touched on was how to prepare your child for kindergarten. I popped that tape in the tape-player after my mom left, and it's like gold to me. My dad's voice is all young and energetic, and everything he says sounds so smart and I pretended he was talking just to me. Like the many rainbows, eagles, and hawks we've all seen since my dad died, this tape felt like a reassurance from him that he's watching, that he loves me, that he cares what's going on in my life. I'm so thankful I can receive these assurances just when I need them. It makes not having him here bearable. It was such an amazing gift!

Mylestones: Myles is learning how to swim. He's almost there. Candyland is is favorite board game these days, and it seems like we play it endlessly. He had a wonderful time "helping" Seth with the landscaping last week until Seth pulled out his back (rest assured, he's better, he ran 10 miles yesterday to train for a race tomorrow). They love bike-riding together. Myles also got his first "progress report" at preschool, a report on where he is with all the developmental milestones kids are supposed to be hitting as they come to the end of preschool. He did great! Out of dozens of categories, the two areas where we are "improving" is in listening while others are talking and self control. Sounds about right...

Seth is getting back into racing shape after a lighter running season this winter. He loves his job, and every day there's a new challenge, crisis, or problem to solve that lands on his desk and he rises to each occasion. He would like his new job description to become permanent, and hopefully that will happen in May. He continues to chug along in school.

All is well with me...I am loving this weather, spring totally has my heart with all its colors and sunshine. I've enjoyed having some windows open so we can get fresh air in the house. The battle with the sugar ants is on! (My weapon this year: all natural hot shot, which smells like lemongrass, but really does the trick) Church is good; I love what I do and I see how I've grown in the past few years (hoping to continue that trend). We haven't seen as much of our friends as we'd like to lately, but hopefully with daylight savings and the good weather we'll be out and about more in the coming weeks/months. Thanks for tuning in!

P.S. I'm on a facebook fast during Lent, so don't try to connect with me there until after Easter.