Dear Kids,
As today is the first day of fall, it seems a fitting time to recap our summer. It was a typical summer in some ways, a strange one in others.
You went to summer camp this year, which was typical. But Livia decided to perform in the talent show for the first time. Unfortunately, she didn’t tell us she was going to dance to “Fight Song” until a couple of days before the show. We let her watch the YouTube video with her chosen dance over and over again, but she simply didn’t have enough time to fully prepare herself. I think she realized on the day of the show that she wasn’t quite ready. But, I have to say, when her name was called, she fearlessly went to the stage and danced until the music was done. She seemed disappointed over her performance afterward, but I was totally impressed. The only kids who were really prepared were the ones who obviously had been taking dance lessons, and even they goofed up. Most of the other dancers froze and/or bailed early, but not my girl. Wow!
We didn’t take a family vacation this year. We were still too traumatized from last year’s vacation. We wanted you to have some fun, though, so we took you on a two-day trip to Great Wolf Lodge shortly before school started up again. Daddy feels like he’s burnt out on GWL now, but you loved every second of it. You told me that you want to go back again soon.
The trauma was there with us at Great Wolf Lodge, at least for a little bit. Daddy went into our hotel room to check it for bedbugs before we brought our stuff in. Having found a speck of crud, he called me in to investigate, too. So you two stayed outside the door, which we left ajar, and every so often, you’d say, “Can we come in yet?” You kept asking, and we kept replying, “Not yet!” Of course we did ultimately let you in, but not until we were absolutely certain that there were no bedbugs!
I bought you each a set of luggage this year. My parents bought me luggage when I was about Marshall’s age. Decades later, I still own and use some of the pieces, so I consider luggage to be an excellent long-term investment. Your new luggage sets arrived in time for our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. You were super excited to pack for themselves. I told you how much of each thing to bring, but you insisted on bringing more “just in case.” You were so cute. And you loved being able to roll your own bags around. I hope your luggage will hold up as well as mine did. If you want it to last, you should probably stop using it like traffic barriers in your room, though.
I’m sorry that we didn’t spend much time outside this year. Between the fear of ticks, the vicious mosquitoes, and the oppressive heat, I just didn’t feel like it. Already I feel the cooler temperatures calling me outside. I hope we will be able to take a lot of walks this season.
Love,
Mom