Return to Waldameer!

 Memorial Day weekend is always heralded as the beginning of summer.  This year it feels like it is also the beginning of our return to normalcy.  Covid cases continue to decline and vaccines continue to increase and all mask and distance mandates end in the state of Ohio on Wednesday. Ready or not, here we go...

What better place to celebrate reopening and summertime than Waldameer? Our annual start-of-summer trip was cancelled last year like everything else, so we were ON it this  year, getting our trip in before school has even ended for half of our group.  We also brought along twice as many children.  Ivy was thrilled to have Lillian and Naomi for company for the day, and we thought Jack would have more fun with friends, too.  We opened up the invite to the Ski Club crew and had three takers to ride along with us, plus another friend who would be in Erie at his grandparents and could meet the boys there.  It was so much fun to have the van full of kiddos. I enjoyed the chance to get to know Jack's friends a little more (I still like them!) and they had SO much fun together.  

This is the face of a girl who is stuck in a van with her brother and his friends.

Happier now.

To add a little more adventure to our day (how can you top a van-full of middle schoolers, right?) we managed to get a flat tire one mile from the exit where we were going to meet Melinda and Will (and transfer Ivy into the "girls" van).  Nothing like dealing with changing a tire on a new-to-us vehicle on the side of the highway with 5 eager kiddos sitting in the van... Thankfully our friend pulled up behind us a few minutes later and helped.  As did Adam, the guy we called at Firestone who helped us locate our lug-nut-lock unlocking device (in the glovebox, of course) and saved the day.  While we waited for our new tire, the boys wandered about, looking for "hooliganery" as Jack termed it.  They were pleased to find a nonworking oil rig and some bamboo sticks they could sword fight with, so it wasn't the worst detour.  We were at Waldameer by 12:45 and all was well with the world. 

The parents hardly knew what to do with themselves all day, with ALLL the kiddos off on their own at the park. We rode the swings and the Ferris Wheel, had funnel cake and french fries, walked from one appointed kid meet-up time and location to another, and spent a surprising amount of time camped out on a strip of grass next to the parking lot, enjoying food and adult beverages from our cooler, talking, and enjoying the sun.  Who could ask for more?

One of the spots we decided to spend time was a picnic area right underneath the Thunder River ride.  That was... wet. 

Dinner at Sara's of course, and then a quick stop at Presque Isle beach in the slanting evening light while the girls rode the coasters two more times. 

Grateful for this three day weekend because are all exhausted from our day in the sun.  Here's to the rest of summer being Waldameer-magical...

Eighth Grade Graduation

Continuing along the theme of time flying and kids growing too fast...  Not only is my baby daughter eleven, but somehow I am also the mother of a high schooler.  Jack has officially finished 8th grade, and there is definitely a feeling of "good riddance" as we bid farewell to this strangest of all school years.  But the really lovely ceremony this week has left me also feeling sad to see his middle school experience end.  

It's been quite the experience all the way through.  These kiddos in the class of 2025 have been through some things these past few years.  Starting with 6th grade in the transition school at Wiley, then back to the Roxboro building for a stellar 7th grade-- which was of course cut short.  Then learning (or not!) virtually for almost all of 8th grade.  The last 2 months, with a gradual return to in person learning, have been just enough to remind Jack of the parts of school he missed.  He has expressed that he's sorry he didn't get more of a real 8th grade.  And I am angry, so angry that he did not, that this year was stolen from  him.  But I was also reminded on Thursday that the year he *did* have-- while not what we expected--will be (for good or ill) a part of who he is forever.  It is the 8th grade he got, and the 8th grade he survived.  He will always be able to look back on this year and think- if I did that, I can do anything! 

We were super impressed by the Farewell Celebration.  Held on the High School football field, it was efficient and classy.  The kids cleaned up well and looked great out there.  As with all school events, I just loved seeing all of those babies we've known for 13 years now, gathered together and growing up.  It's lovely to be part of a community where you are clapping for far more children than just your own.  

Academically, this year was not Jack's best.  To put it mildly.  It was nice that one of the celebrations was for having honor or merit roll for multiple semesters over their whole middle school career.  Four semesters of honor roll is not too shabby.  He also had merit roll for one semester, and then, as he put it, one we won't talk about.  I know he's aware that his grades this year weren't what he is capable of.  But this year was not an ordinary year and every one of us-- Jack and his mom and dad-- opted not to push it. Here's hoping for a normal, in-person high school experience that can inspire our boy to excel again...In the meantime I will focus on gratitude that after 15 months of remote learning and a global pandemic, our boy is healthy and strong and still happy at school. 

Socially, middle school has been a win for Jack.  I'm just so grateful that he has found a solid group of friends.  They forged their relationship by messing around in their classes (it was wild to have my quiet, rule following boy getting in trouble for talking!) and online gaming, and that's what carried them through the pandemic.  Skiing together all winter and playing tennis all spring... what fun.  I genuinely like this collection of young men.  They are personable and polite and fun loving.  And it turns out we even like their families.  We got a chance to get to know them while watching tennis matches, and cemented it after the graduation ceremony, when we all went out to Van Aken to celebrate. The boys ate pizza and ice cream and climbed on rocks and played tag (how cute is that!!) and we had craft beer and talked and talked with the other parents in the breezy spring air.

So much to celebrate. 

Mid May and the living is easy

May is cruising along at a terrific pace, and with (recently at least) some terrific weather...

Here's what we've been up to.

Just about when we got into the routine of tennis, the season has ended.  The tall boy with the hair in these photos definitely improved over the season-- both in his skills and his attitude. I do think by the end he was enjoying the sport, as well as the time with his friend.  Grateful for our "parent pact" with our Ski Club friends. These middle school boys need a bit of a push sometimes.

Playing tennis was great for Jack-- and going to the tennis matches was great for us.  We loved standing around with our CH parent tribe.  And it was intensely reassuring to have those "oh, your teen boy does that too!!" moments with other people. Always good to know your kid is normal, and you are not alone. 

Award ceremony and treats.  Covid makes things weird.  But  Coach Zubik did a great job with these boys.  She had a wonderful nurturing and laid back approach and focused on the goal of helping them have FUN and be together after this year apart.  

Beach time!

We looked for sea glass (as always) on this visit... but the light was so glorious and bright and hitting the water and the stone in such a way that EVERYTHING was shining like glass.  Every pebble a treasure.  It was a neat moment.  And also a lot of bending over to pick up rather ordinary stones.

Nat and the kids got me a dogwood tree for Mother's Day.  I am so excited! We decided to put it in at the edge of the garden beds out front, where we had a giant oak removed years ago.  Turns out the roots are still in there.  Here are my children, gamely using an axe to plant my present.  

The really liked using an axe.

A wonderful night with new and old friends and tiny kids. We met a lovely couple at a mutal friend's party and just connected right away with them.  Decided to invite them-- and our mutual friend- over for a backyard hang, which turned into an awesome potluck cookout.  They brought their littles -- ranging from age 1 to age 7-- and it was a trip down memory lane, to those years where this yard was filled with tiny ones, and children played with toys at our house.  It was lovely.  And also BUSY.  I think I'd forgotten just how much constant attention it takes to manage kids of that age. I miss our kids being tiny-- but I'll also take how EASY they are these days.

Ivy was a champion child-minder.  She was in heaven with a baby to look after. 

Maya and Ava adore Ivy.  They also wore her out!

Parties galore!  The next day we were off to celebrate Brendan's 7th birthday.  It has been so wonderful to have cousins nearby.  We are already melancholy about their move back to the west coast latser this year.  

Here's what my tween/teen kiddos do at a birthday party for little kids.  It's good for their relationship, this kind of adversity. 

Ivy is experimenting with new clothing styles and recently obtained this beanie, which makes her look *exactly* like Jay from Jay and Silent Bob.  We get a kick out of it.  She does NOT appreciate being called Jay. 

Springtime at Stan Hywet. We have these things that we do every year at about the same time.  It's interesting. It's not like we schedule anything particularly carefully in our lives, but its often like deja vu to scroll through FB memories.  Wait, didn't I just post that exact picture of our dog in the Secret Garden...?  Oh, right.  We did exactly this thing three years ago...

Still magical, though.

We happened to be on our way to take Win to Cindy for a grooming.  So this is her "before" picture.  I kind of like her bangs.

Cindy was at a dog show... and so were Winter's puppies!

They were the most amazing, silken, wiggly, waggy bundles of love.

Can I tell you how hard it was to not take one (or 2 or 3) home with us??  Good thing Nat is strong.

Thanks to Roxboro tennis, we now have a new family activity.  Had a lovely, wholesome evening riding over to Cain Park to play tennis together.

This moment is everything-- Jack throwing the ball and coaching Ivy through some hitting drills.  The two of them being together and actually getting along for a moment. The magic of the great outdoors and physical activity.  It brings out their best selves.

Thanks, May.  You've been grand so far.