Good-bye, Friends...

Today was Joshua's preschool graduation, and it has been a very emotional day for me. We have had the best experience this past year being a part of this school and it is so bittersweet now that it has come to an end. Being a part of ICNS has been such an
unexpected blessing in our lives because I never knew when we started there how incredible it would turn out to be for our family. The school's director told me that Joshua flourished during the school year. He made such a wide circle of friends and he will forever be a better person because of those associations. I made many sweet friends and acquaintances as well and just loved the way I felt when I was at the school, among that particular group of people. Lots of people commented that it was a really great group of parents this year, and I feel so lucky that it was the one year we were there!


I think my favorite memories of the school really sum up our experience for me; when I would drop Joshua off at school for the afternoon, many of his friends were already there as they started at 12 for the lunch hour. Whenever they saw him arrive, they would yell, "Joshua! Joshua! Joshua's here!" And they would form a happy little circle around him. He would usually say, "Let's go race on our bikes!" and they would all run outside and race to their hearts content. It just felt so great to see how genuinely happy they all were to see each other and to enjoy those relationships in their pure form, as children, before growing up comes along and complicates all that.


Anyway, I could go on and on, but I'd better not. Okay, maybe just a little more. I am the most nostalgic person I have ever met, and it was so hard to see Joshua's empty cubby at school, to look around the school and see the cheerful artwork on the walls, and to know that it has all come to an end for us. Change is so hard! I have to tell myself that it is a positive thing that I am feeling this way. It would be less painful to leave the school with indifference or even discontent, but that would mean that we wouldn't have had the amazingly enriching experience that we did over this past year. Of course we can grow through adversity and challenges, but this experience has taught/reminded me that we can also grow under ideal circumstances, circumstances that allow us to thrive and be who we really are. This truly happened for us at ICNS, and I will be forever grateful.

Swim Lessons

The boys have been taking swim lessons for about a month now and I wanted to post some pictures. They absolutely love being in the water and have already made lots of progress. I did a lot of research and found a swim school that we are really happy with. Among the reasons I love it are they were totally willing to take both my boys at the same time (which is huge -- none of the other pools would do that!), they keep a maximum ratio of 3 students to one teacher, and it's an indoor, well-heated, saline pool. Also, notice the metal table in the water the kids are standing on. I thought this was an ingenious idea! The kids don't have to cling to the wall while the teacher is working with another student -- it's so much more comfortable for them. Small details like that make a real difference!



A friend of ours from preschool recommended it, as she has had her boys attending there since they were infants, and I in turn recommended it to another friend who enrolled her girls. They have their lessons on the same day and time as us, so it's lots of fun!



I have to say that it has been a surreal experience for me to watch my kids having swim lessons, especially at first. I taught swim lessons for so many years as a teenager, and I guess I just never pictured myself being on the "other side" as a parent. But surrealism aside, it is immensely satisfying to watch them learning and growing and having so much fun!

It's been eight...

...wonderful years of marriage! Jake and I were able to go out to dinner thanks to the kind offer of a thoughtful friend who had our boys over to play with hers, their dear friends, while we celebrated. She literally saved our anniversary as we hadn't had anything planned since Jake was in Livermore all last week and it was an absolutely crazy crazy week (I am not exaggerating!). Thanks so much Stephanie! And we truly do have much to celebrate. Thank you Jake for being who you are and especially for being mine!