Dear Miles,

Fall always seems like a busy time, and this one has followed the pattern.  As disappointed as I was that your Let Me Run team wasn’t able to form, it’s actually a bit of a relief to have one fewer activity to manage.  It seems like every day we’re off doing something, and when you’re not at Orff Club, trombone practices, piano lessons, or Family Folk Machine, you’re working on your personal projects.  You’re still into drawing comics, and while perhaps you’re not gifted in the technical elements of drawing, I’ve noticed some cool techniques you employ.  When I look through your (epic-length) comics—or maybe they qualify as graphic novels by this point—I see interesting framing, close-ups to show characters’ emotional responses, and thoughtful changes in setting.  This tells me that you’re thinking at a level beyond straightforward storytelling and are grasping the cinematic aspects of the art form.

Halloween was mostly fun.  You didn’t get too excited about the school party.  The madhouse atmosphere has never been your thing (though Tobin enjoyed it), and most of your good friends didn’t go.  However, you still found enjoyable Halloween activities.  We went to a party the weekend before actual Halloween, and on the official day, we joined up with your friend Jacob and his mom for a neighborhood trick-or-treat outing.  Along the way, we ran into other groups of school friends, so it ended up being a mobile party (a moveable feast, maybe).  I stayed out almost the whole time, too.  I was expecting to take Callum to a few houses then return home to pass out candy, but he loved being with you and the big kids so much that he lasted a long time.  We have candy in the freezer once again.  I hope it can survive another freeze/thaw cycle.

We have parent-teacher conferences next week, and I’m interested to hear what your teacher has to say.  I run into him at school events now and then, and he’s reassured me that you’re doing well, though he did mention that you’re forgetful and sometimes get tearful.  He’s right; you can be a bit absent-minded, which is something you’re going to have to learn to manage.  We should work on some list-making strategies or other tools for making sure you have all your tasks organized and completed.  Right now your main strategy is having me remind you, but I’ve got three kids and my own task list.  It would be great (and will eventually be necessary) for you to start checking off your own boxes.  You have a lot of math worksheets, music folders, library books, and instruments to keep track of.  To your credit, I think you’ve only forgotten to bring home your lunch bag twice so far this school year, which is a personal best.

Your current favorites:  making, editing, and publishing YouTube videos (Mister Whacky, for anyone reading this inclined to check out your channel); teaching yourself new notes on the trombone; Minecraft; Goldfish crackers; sleeping late; and eating Halloween candy.  You and Jacob filmed a YouTube video of a blind taste test of assorted Halloween treats, and you’ve been working on editing that.  You’re quite interested in achieving YouTube stardom, which would be exciting, but you’re going to need to find a photographer who doesn’t put his finger over the lens so much (Tobin considered it a stylistic choice, but you’re not convinced).

The busiest time of year is coming, with music concerts and holidays and the tedious management of cold weather outerwear.  Winter brings so many opportunities for disorganization.  Let’s see if we can get through the whole season on a single pair of gloves.

On the plus side, you barely need a hat with that head of hair.

Love,

Mom