May 8, 2019 at 5:42pm. It's official. We have a 9 year old.
We also have a week chock full of celebration, before and after the big day...
Monday: End of the year Middle School PTA picnic at Forest Hills. The community events just don't stop around here.
Tuesday: Jack's 6th grade band concert.
Trombones in the back means not so many great pictures. The kids did a great job, though.
Wednesday: treated my sweet girl to a pedicure as a surprise after school!
Such serious work.
Then we dressed up our dining room again to celebrate the "real birthday!"
It was nice to Winter back home for this round of celebration. (Selfies with spaniels don't always work out so well...)
But quick, before cake-- another concert! Ivy's third grade recorder performance was as adorable as ever.
Look at all that cuteness.
And that (tall) cuteness, saying hi to his old band teacher. He also gave his 5th grade teacher a hug, so that was pretty adorable too.
There's a certain magic to the Spring Concert night every year. Seems its always a perfect evening, full of dappled slanting sunshine and happy children playing out their post-performance adrenaline on the glacial boulder and the slides...
I sure do love these kids.
Thursday was a spectacular day. Dawned like this....
... so I stopped on my way to work for a walk in Beachwood park. Teaching day went alright (which is saying something at this point -- the "OMG I am so done with this 8th grader attitude" point-- in the school year...) and the afternoon drizzle was even mostly stopped by the time I got home. After a bit of time with my kiddos, it was off to the theater for me and my mom.
We watched Bronx Tale, a perfectly lovely little musical about which I'd known nothing before that night. In another bit of pleasant fortune, we ended up with quite the seat upgrade, when we found that the Connor Palace theater does not have an elevator. I told my mom she's going to need to wear that knee brace and bring her cane to ALL the theater from now now. Check out our great view from the handicap accessible seats they fit us into last minute! It's going to be hard to go back to the nosebleeds.
On the way back to my car, walking through the cool, damp evening air, past the "stage door" side of the theater buildings (my favorite view in this area of town) watching other theater goers happily heading out, I was struck with the most lovely sense of well-being and gratitude for this really kickass life I've been given. How lucky am I, to live in this great place with this amazing family and opportunities abounding for me to enjoy beauty and culture and leisure? And how lucky to feel, deeply, the joy of all that as I walked to my car in the rain...
Friday, the goodness continued with a baby shower at work and dinner out with two of my favorite mama friends...
... and Saturday, a day with enough time and energy to do all the things. Had a grand conversation with a swim-mom friend while our kids practiced. Back at home, we scoured the house in preparation for our next string of boarders, but at a leisurely pace, and it was lovely to enjoy a shiny clean space. Nat took me shopping for plants and flowers for our garden and its not often that you have a really nice time with your honey at WalMart but we managed it.
Dinner out at Tree Country Bistro with these two reluctant walkers, and then a campfire with neighbors to finish out an easy Saturday...
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| Audio for this photo: "By the power of Greyskull!" Thank you She-Ra reboot. |
And all of a sudden it was Mother's Day. This little pickle was so excited to serve me breakfast in bed, and studiously watched me eat the whole thing. (Mother's Day is a lot of pressure to enjoy things!)
After a second round of breakfast cooked by Jack (this time at the table) I took my little ones to church and Nat went to pick up our little show dog (who did NOT win any points this weekend but we still love her.)
After lunch, my mom and Ivy and I were treated to world class orchestra music in another iconic Cleveland Space. The Severance Family Concerts are such a gift.
So is this beautiful spring weather, with flowering trees still abounding.
