Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo*

On Saturday evening I went on a walk with Sophie and Phoebe. Sophie started the walk wearing her inexpensive flip flops. I suggested they might not be the best walking shoes and she went back in the house. She came out a minute later wearing a relatively new pair of my tennis shoes. I haven't broken them in yet. I asked her if they were comfortable, she said yes, we started walking.

About fifteen minutes into our walk the shoes had started rubbing raw spots on her foot. Sophie slipped off my shoes and switched to walking barefoot on the street. After a very short distance I took the shoes out of her hand, stepped out of my own comfortable flip flops and put on the stiff shoes. Sophie finished the walk in my sandals.

Today I dropped Peter, Cooper, and Phoebe off at a pool party for the youth at church. We pulled up to the house and I wished them all a fun time. That's when Phoebe announced that she didn't have any shoes. I repeated what she said and asked if I had heard her correctly. Yes, she had gotten into the van without any footwear. Once again, I pulled off my sandals and handed them to one of my daughters. I drove home barefoot.

Apparently my role as a mom is now to give up my shoes to my kids. Also, it works out well that we currently all have the same shoe size.

* I will be incredibly impressed if anyone gets this musical theatre reference without Googling it. Hint: I never say the full title of this show.

The Rest of the Week

Tuesday:

It's a lot easier to walk to the bus stop in the morning than it is to walk home after school. During one walk we have lots of energy, during the other walk we're so tired that we beg to be carried. By we, I mean Topher.

Phoebe has been quite the fashionista this week. I didn't get great pictures of any of the ensembles, but they were darling.

Wednesday:

The BYU application went live and Peter got to work on it right away.

Thursday:

This was the first morning of the school year chilly enough to require sweatshirts. When they got off the bus in the afternoon the sweatshirts were no longer needed.

One Down

We're done with our first week of school, tomorrow starts a four-day weekend.

Guys, we are SO TIRED.

Seminary hasn't even started yet, I don't have kids at home with me during the day, and I've just barely dragged myself to Thursday night. 

I'm sleeping in tomorrow.

The Library Letter

A few weeks ago, after attending several library events in a short period of time, one of the librarians approached me with a request. She told me that our local congresswoman had nominated the library for a national award. The librarians were asking members of the community to submit letters in support of the library, to showcase the positive effects the it had on our population. Then she asked if I would write such a letter because she had a feeling that I would be able to craft a narrative. I assumed they were asking everyone they could and said yes.

That day she emailed me the details and criteria for the award. It turns out the library could only submit three letters of support. This both added pressure and relieved it. Surely, I thought, they've asked many people to write letters and this is just one that may or may not be used, so no stress. But also, didn't I want to write a letter that would get picked? That's where the extra anxiety came from.

I spent a few days last week brainstorming, writing, and editing the letter. I submitted it on Monday. I have no idea if they'll use it. But, since I spent time on it, I figured I should post it here. I'm editing out the actual name of the library (instead calling it Library) and my last name, but the rest is what I sent in. Thanks to my dad for editing the letter for me. And apologies to my dad since I only used about half of his edits.

Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services,

Yesterday morning I sat in a cozy, plush armchair, snuggled next to my nine-year-old daughter as she read a graphic novel. In a room downstairs my five-year-old son attended a kindergarten readiness workshop. From my vantage point I could see children reading with their mom, a girl drawing pictures with her parent, another child playing educational games on the computer, and two boys browsing shelves of books. These activities all happened in the children’s section of the Library.

Today I chose a different seat in the library. I’m in an open group meeting room. A woman is reading one of the library-provided newspapers. Another woman is halfway through a book that has engaged her, she’s eagerly leaning over its pages. There are two other women, both on their laptops like I am, one of them with books open next to her that she keeps referencing. None of us are the same age. We five represent several generations, all using this space together. This is a room of learning, of work, of contemplation, of gathering.

This is the room I come to every other Tuesday night for the library hosted Ukulele Orchestra. It's the room I brought three of my children to last month to learn about rescue animals. It’s not far from where they were taught how to set up a healthy and thriving fish tank, near where my budding author and artist daughter was inspired as she listened to a local author and illustrator, close to where my seventeen-year-old reconnected with his middle school librarian. I can see into the Teen and Young Adult section, my good friends Harry Potter and Percy Jackson painted on the wall. Beyond that I can see sunlit rows of the adult fiction collection.

Each time we visit this library, which is often, we leave with our arms full of books. Sometimes we pick up the new book we heard at storytime that week. Sometimes I see the beautiful displays of picture books and add a few to my bag. I think I’ve come prepared by bringing a canvas tote or two to carry our books, but without fail our literary treasures overflow the confines of those bags. We can’t resist getting just one, or two, or three more books. At the checkout desk I split our teetering stack of books among our multiple library cards, my version of a shopaholic spreading their purchases across credit cards. There are few things as sweet as the imagination fueled silence of the post-library drive home, everyone’s nose in a book.

In the few quiet moments I can find for myself during a normal day, I slip an earbud into my ear and jump into the latest audiobook I’ve borrowed from the library. The hundreds of audiobooks I’ve listened to in the last few years have been my companions as I folded laundry, trudged through dishes, painted walls, and ripped carpet out of our new home. These books were my friends during the profound isolation of a global pandemic. During that time when we couldn’t visit the library in person, we relied on the ebooks we checked out directly to our Kindles. Even when we weren’t able to leave our home, we were still able to visit new worlds through the library’s digital collection.

The Library serves our family and our community well. I know of several people that travel out of their way to visit this library for its books, its classes, and its other programs. The librarians are kind and helpful. When my teenage son mentioned the name of his favorite author, the librarians excitedly talked about their own love for his books. They make this a safe, welcoming place to be.

It’s almost time to retrieve my son from today’s kindergarten readiness class. I’ll pack up my computer and follow the dad and his teenage daughter that just passed me, a book clutched in her hand. I’ll pass the teenagers giggling in the next room, their books open on a desk in front of them. I’ll gather my other children and see how many books they’ve found to take home from this visit.

Oh how we love the library.

Best Regards,

Margot

The First Day Report

Everyone came home from school yesterday with things to report.

Peter gave me a rundown on which classes have friends in them and which teachers seem like they'll be good.

Cooper told me that high school is boring and there's no time to talk to anyone. He said he didn't meet anyone new, even when Peter tried introducing him to his friends. I challenged Cooper to introduce himself to one person in each class today, we'll see how that goes.

Phoebe didn't show up on any of her teachers' rosters and had forgotten where the before school choir class meets. This was stressful for her. She recognized lots of kids from her elementary school days, not all of those kids remembered her. But she did make a new friend!

Sophie said she was sad during recess until two girls in her class walked up to her and invited her to play with them. They're now, after one day, dear friends. She had glowing things to say about her teacher. She also was an integral part of the little boy next door going to his first day of kindergarten. He was in tears at the thought of leaving his mom to get on the bus. Sophie held his hand and had him sit between her Topher on their bus bench. As they drove she told him all about kindergarten and how much fun it would be. She also walked both Topher and our neighbor to the cafeteria where all the kindergarteners were supposed to gather. His mom and dad told me that they were so thankful that Sophie was there to help him.

Topher learned about how to be a bucket filler and how not to be a bucket dipper. He said the best part of his day was when a little girl in his class chased him around the playground. His teacher sent me a picture of the two of them today and said they're already great friends!

Bryan had a regular day of working from home, though he did get to walk to the bus with us in the morning.

And what did I do? Well, after the busy morning getting everyone out the door and my subsequent cry, I spent time writing and editing, I took a 30 minute nap, I attended a last minute meeting (at the park, my kids were not happy to hear that I went without them), then I came home and had lunch and talked with Bryan before meeting the kids at the bus stop. It doesn't sound like I accomplished much, but it was something.

First Day 0f School 2023-24!

Peter, Sophie, and Topher were excited. Phoebe and Cooper were anxious. I didn't cry until they were all on the bus and I was back home. So far, so good.

For the First Time in Forever

This is the last weekend of summer break. After the fullest, craziest summer we've had in years you'd think I was ready to have all the kids go back to school in person. 

After all, this will be the first time in four years that all our school kids have been in person. 

It's the first year all five of them will be in school. 

It's the first time in almost eighteen years that I won't have any kids at home with me during the day.

I should be overjoyed, right? Except, I'm not. I'm happy that most of them are excited. I'm looking forward to having a few hours to accomplish some tasks on my own. I'm hopeful that a break each day will help me to be a calmer, less stressed version of myself. I'm genuinely looking forward to possibly taking naps. These are all good things.

I'm also anxious. Will Peter prioritize schoolwork over socialization and friends, especially as he applies to colleges? Will Cooper speak up and connect with other kids and make friends? Will Phoebe embrace her awesomeness and let her natural talents shine? Will Sophie find enough positive friendship and energy from her classmates? Will Topher follow directions and stay safe while he's at school? That's one concern for each child, but I have so many more swirling through my brain. Will I use my own time during the day wisely?

Topher and I went to the kindergarten open house last night. He'll have the same teacher that Sophie had in kindergarten. She's amazing! She has the same level of energy that all those five and six year-olds have. Sophie told me once that she's like a real life cartoon character and I agree in the best way possible. Topher is a lucky kid to have her as a teacher.

As we were doing bedtime a few days a ago Topher told me, "See, the thing is, I'm nervous for kindergarten." I thought that seeing his classroom and meeting his teacher would calm his concerns. As we left the school last night I asked if he was feeling any better about school. 

Topher: No

Me: You're still nervous?

Topher: Yes.

Me: Are you nervous excited? Or nervous scared?

Topher: I'm nervous scared.

Me: Oh buddy, why?

Topher: Because I'm scared to do kindergarten without you there.

Yeah, me too.

Crayon World

Sophie had an Activity Day gathering at Crayola Experience this week. I had to drop her off and pick her up, and it had been a long time since the rest of the kids had visited, so I offered to take anyone who was interested while Sophie was hanging out with the AD girls. Peter opted to stay home, but the other three wanted to go. Cooper was concerned that he was a little too old to enjoy the activity, but it was still fun.

We were only there for two hours, so we hit the highlights. Everyone remembered the interactive boat display that shows how the canal lock system works. I had always wondered why this was part of a crayon museum. I overheard one of the employees say that display was part of the original museum that existed in this space before Crayola took over in the 90s. She also said the building itself is roughly one hundred years old.

Upstairs we melted crayons into fun shapes and attempted to do spin art. Phoebe's paper got caught and ripped away to the edge of the machine, so the crayons melted onto the metal plate meant to hold the paper. She got a second try and it worked. She still loved the ripped version though.

There were several Kubota vehicles on display as part of a promotion. That meant we had to take several pictures with those vehicles.

We ran into Sophie and the other girls while Topher played on a giant indoor play structure. Topher latched onto the girls and followed them as they were playing. That was his favorite part of the day.

When we were done we had to hurry out to the van before our parking meter was up. We happened to park next to this fun bike rack. We had just enough time to take a quick picture. It was a nice end to our quick adventure.

Teenagers are Entertaining

Future Architect

"Mom, take a picture of my structure."