Donut of the Week

So this week, my little buddy is Donut of the Week at school. It's a playful little thing his teacher devised to give each kid a little showcase during the school year. On Monday they get to share an "All About Me" poster. (I should say "poster", in quotes, because it's really an online Seesaw assignment where they fill in the blanks. Thanks, Covid, for stifling creativity in our children). On Tuesday they get to bring something to school for Show and Tell. Wednesday they get to pick the music used for their brain break in class. 

But on tomorrow - Thursday - that's where the fun happens. Parents get to write a letter to their child, basically dripping with love and tenderness and compliments, and likely providing the child with hours of fun in-class embarrassment. The sappier the better. 

Now, it's been a few years since I had a homework assignment, not to mention a writing one. But I felt up to the challenge. So I cuddled up on the couch next to my boy this evening as he watched Minecraft music videos on YouTube. And clickety-clack, I typed out a banger of a letter in no time flat. And since I have the benefit of this blog at my disposal, and I can copy and paste and Bam! Instant blog post.

So here's my soon-to-be infamous letter:

Dear Connor – 

 

This is just a note to let you know how proud I am of you. It’s been the highlight of my life to watch you grow up from a tiny infant into the bright young boy you are today. You are always kind and thoughtful and empathetic towards other people as well as to animals. Your seemingly boundless energy has kept me on my toes and demanded that I pretend I’m at least 10 years younger just to keep up. Your capacity for intelligence often surprises me, as you frequently seem to absorb new information effortlessly. And you like to learn. Your limitless curiosity about the world around you and your observations of it have led to all manner of daily Quotes – nearly 300 in the past wo years – that I’ve shared with friends and family on Facebook. Your innocent and often profound insights have brought, laughter, joy, tears, and every emotion in between to the people around you.

 

I know it’s been a struggle this year; everything from dealing with this pandemic to the delays in construction of our new home (which still isn’t finished), to the loss of your favorite cat, Buster. I know it hasn’t been fun having to quarantine ourselves and miss out on play dates and stop participating in the sports you love such as basketball and soccer, and on and on.  But we’ve found new things to play, and new adventures to try such as our outings to go hiking in the woods or to try new card and board games or even to make up your own games. Your imagination never stops! We’ve killed many a zombie together and mined so many diamonds and emeralds and ridden so many paths on our two-wheeled “horses”. And you have persevered through everything and always kept a smile on your face and lifted my spirits in the process. I’m incredibly proud with how well you’ve taken everything in stride, and how you never complain and always see the bright side of life. In short, you inspire me. And I can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for us.

 

Love, 

Your Dad

Writing Again

Well I see more than a month has gone by since I posted on here. Where does all this time go? Minutes turn to hours, hours to to days, days to weeks. What a droll existence! Meanwhile, Scout is still adjusting to the loss of her brother, Buster. As am I. As is Connor. That was the last thing I wrote about on here. Funny how one little animal becomes so entwined in our lives. This is why I don't support the use of "emotional support animals" to try and avoid the rules of society. As if those pets were somehow more special to their owners than anyone else's. News flash: ALL pets are emotional support animals. That's why we have pets.

Today was a pleasant day though. I didn't get a soul-repairing trip to the bay this week. I need to, and soon. It just wasn't in the cards this week, though I certainly contemplated it.. But I started this morning with a 4-mile walk along the river in Old Town, followed by some laundry and vacuuming at home, followed by some margaritas at Chili's courtesy of my last gift card, received pre-Covid. And then, not to be outdone, I did a 5-mile bike trek on the paved bike trails around Natomas. I ended up at Orchard Park, where this shot was taken. There's...so many nice, paved bike trails around here. All interwoven and spreading across the land. The more I explore, the more I find new ones. This one was new to me, and it had several paths in various directions that I had neither the time nor stamina to explore. Not today anyway. But today was an acceptable substitute for the Bay Area. So it was a good day.

I also stopped by the townhome this evening, just to check on things. No progress seemed to have been made in the last several days. I've been trying to get an update on construction progress for over a month now, to no avail. I just want to know when it will be done, when I can move in. It keeps getting delayed due to this ridiculous pandemic. I'm ready to end this apartment existence and have my own place again; to finally pull my things from storage and create a "home". Sigh. Keep waiting I guess.

And now it's getting cold, and the wind which has been with us all day is intensifying. Supposed to rain tomorrow. After being around 90 degrees the past week. Pick a season California! But I do like the gloomy weather, so it will be a nice change come tomorrow, if not entirely conducive to outdoor activities. And Connor and I just got to use the community pool for the first time last week! And now it will be far too cold to use it. 

And that reminds me, I need to write sometime about dreams of the future and potential places to live, after the townhome and after Connor goes off to college. Places more temperate and delightfully appropriate for the retirement which keeps inching closer. It's good to dream about such things, I think. But I don't want this post to go on so long...so I'll save it for tomorrow. Hey, I'm writing again anyway. Perhaps I can keep it up...