I asked Matthew why the principal didn't give a speech. He said she got a new job right after the school board announced our elementary school would house all of the dual-language programs in the district as of this fall, and all of the traditional (single language) students and teachers would be reassigned to other schools. It was a divisive decision by the school board. Not many families are happy about it. The change will save the school district $1 million a year. I'm unhappy about it, but in all honesty, the announcement was only the final straw. Our local classroom/school/district culture has degraded to the point that teachers and administrators burn out at an alarming rate. In the last 7 years, we've had 3 principals at the elementary school, 2 at the middle school, and 3 at the high school. One of them has been charged with embezzlement. Matthew had 3 different third grade teachers in the same classroom before Valentine’s Day. A quarter of the things he was meant to learn this yearIt's ridiculous.
Robert didn't want us to attend his 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony. If you don't know Robert (or my relationship with Robert) very well, I will translate for you: "I understand this is a milestone, but I really don't care about celebrating it, and having family people mix with school people is very difficult for me. I know you adore me. You know I adore you. Not attending this event (and therefore avoiding a family/friend paradox and any potentially embarrassing situations) is a demonstration of your love and respect for me as a human being with feelings (which can only be expressed in carefully curated ways dependent on the group of people I am currently with). Please."
He tells me he received 2 awards containing words like presidential, achievement, academic, award, and winner, but assures me 39 other people in his promotion class got the same.
All 4 kids will be attending new schools next year! And Robert will start early-morning seminary.
It will be a new level of busy for our family.
Lately, I've just felt like this is a really nice moment in our family story. We have more laughter and love floating around. Shared laughter. I like those sharing bits the best. Alex and Robert are so funny and real. James and Matthew are so curious and playful. I like to run errands with just Alex and the little boys. We play loud music, goof around, and laugh like we're drunk. They're great for road trips, these three.
I like that 30 minutes every school morning after everyone else has gone and it's just me and Robert horsing around until he has to leave. He's funny and warm and silly and affectionate and sometimes we talk about hard things.
I like those afternoons when Alex helps me make dinner or prep freezer jam or pull weeds. He's so confident and capable! I like his random texts and Marco Polos telling me something crazy about school.
I like it when James gives me a big, long hug. We can tease each other. I like how his eyes literally sparkle when he's got a great idea brewing. I like how he's always willing to run an errand with me, no matter how small, and if it's just me and him, sometimes we end up talking about real things: big questions, hard things, things not understood. He tells me patterns he's noticed. Sometimes we even design experiments to test his hypotheses.
I like it when Matthew puts his hand on my arm like he did when he was younger. He's not a snugly kid, generally, but sometimes when we're doing something together, he'll just put his hand on my arm and keep it there. Last night, he was scared at bedtime and ended up spending a little 1-on-1 time with me. I like his sweet company. I like the precocious expressions and dry humor he's developed as the 4th child. And he's full of that drive to have fun (safely), explore (with permission), and be with people (he loves).
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