Catching up

First, I have to catch up with some of the highlights of the past year.

Fall

• The boys started school. The transition from kindergarten to 1st can be difficult and D had some *big feelings* in October and November. In 3rd grade, A's teacher was always nice but did not challenge him at all. The previous summer, T and I had decided to hang back and not meet the teachers until the first parent-teacher conference in November. In hindsight, that was a mistake.
• The kids played soccer and had some wonderful, wonderful coaches who nurtured both their skills and their self-confidence.
• My friend whose alter ego is Superwoman got the whole family passes to see President Obama in Philadelphia. We stood about 40 feet away from him and I hollered like a thirteen-year-old at a One Direction concert.
• We spent the traditional Thanksgiving at my brother's house in Maryland, something the kids look forward to for months.
• My sweet puppy died. She had been with me for 12 years and was a far better person than I ever will be. She found the joy in everything, knew how to stand up for herself, and forgave quickly and completely. I still miss her every day.

Winter

• As Christmas approached, the boys' brains turned to mush.
• I took time off work, did some home repairs, refinished some floors, and painted almost the entire house. The kids each moved into their own room.
• We gave A permission to grow his hair out. He had been asking for months but hadn't been ready to commit to the care that longer hair would require. He's done a fabulous job. It's helped that he's had several Black men available to advise him.
• The kids played futsal.
• T lost his job when NIH funding didn't come through. (In the last twelve years, the NIH has cut funding for science research by 22%.)
• I went back to work and got a second part-time job.
• A large tree broke in our backyard in a windstorm. T turned the stump into a cool treehouse.
• It was a VERY cold winter and we went to Florida again.