Dear Miles,

Fifth grade has begun, and with it all the hustle and bustle of the new school year.  I’ve run into your teacher a couple of times when I’ve been doing volunteer work at school, and he said that you’re doing well.  We have your school open house this week, which you won’t be able to attend due to a band conflict (see next paragraph), but I plan to go and learn more about what fifth grade will bring.  You’ve said that your teacher is really into social studies, so maybe you can parlay your Hamilton obsession into some kind of coursework.  Your lunches remain consistent and unimaginative:  crackers, chips, fruit, and juice.  I don’t know how you operate on so little protein—we haven’t even been to Panda Express lately for orange chicken.  Asian preparations remain pretty much the only way you eat much variety, so our wok gets a good workout.  Fortunately our garden garlic harvest was pretty abundant this year, so I was able to freeze a large amount of garlic-ginger paste, a key ingredient in the many stir-fries I make for dinner.

You do enjoy apples, especially ones picked at our favorite local orchard.  We took our annual family trip to Wilson’s last weekend, and despite the mud that has resulted from the copious recent rain, we had fun and picked tons of apples.

The main thing keeping you busy this fall will be music:  Orff club will be starting up again soon, plus you’ve gone back to piano, and Family Folk Machine, and the trombone.  The trombone is brand new to you.  Over the summer, we discussed what activities you’d be doing and how to manage them without going crazy.  I asked you to pick either piano or band, and after some contemplation, you chose piano.  Then the school band director came to your class to give her pitch.  You got so excited about playing the trombone that I couldn’t say no.  We were able to borrow one from a friend for the time being, so we haven’t invested a lot, but if it turns out you’re serious about it we’ll look into a purchase.  It turns out two of your friends are also going to play trombone, so it will be fun for you to be part of the brass section in the school band.  I hope you enjoy it and find fulfillment in it.  I also hope you mostly practice downstairs.

You’ve been doing a lot of reading, including books by one of my favorite children’s authors, John Bellairs.  There’s a movie coming out later this month based on his book The House with a Clock in Its Walls, so I’m looking forward to seeing that with you.  It’s honestly not my favorite of his books, but maybe if it’s a big hit, they’ll make more movie adaptations.  I really like it when we can both read a book and then see the movie together.  We did it with A Wrinkle in Time as well, and it’s fun to talk to you about our favorite elements, what was left out from the book and what was changed, and whether characters and key scenes were how we imagined them or not.

Photo by Gary Clarke

One cool thing we got to do recently was perform music at the opening reception for an art exhibition.  The exhibition showcased mother and child artists, so for the musical entertainment, the organizers invited local mothers and kids such as ourselves.  We performed two songs:  “Pop Fly” by Justin Roberts and our original composition, “The Exploring Baby.”  I asked you before we began whether you were nervous, and you looked at my like I was nuts.  You weren’t nervous at all.  You just got up there and belted out your tunes, including the rap you wrote as a bridge in “The Exploring Baby.”  Our performance was well-received, and I hope you were as proud of yourself as I was of you.

It was apropos to sing a song that was about our life with Callum, because you’ve been an especially good big brother to him lately.  You’ve been mostly patient and kind, including him in your games and finding ways he can participate without destroying anything.  Sometimes you get frustrated and I have to intervene, but mostly you’ve very tolerant and nice about engaging with him.  He loves you so much.  The first few days after school started, Callum would wake up in the morning and say, “Where’s Miles?”  I explain to him that you’re at school, which he begrudgingly accepts, and he’s always happy to see you when he sees you through the front window as you approach the house.

Your current favorites:  linguine with homemade tomato sauce (you make the linguine and I make the sauce), Minecraft, puns, playing airplane with Callum, everything Hamilton, drawing comics, and watching weird YouTube videos made by Danish people.

I’m so glad that your fifth grade year is off to a great start, sweet Miles.  May this stage of kindness and general pleasantness last all year.

Love,

Mom