Dear Tobin,

This time of year is the best for Timehop. March brings so many wonderful photo memories of our adventures together. Everyone in our family enjoys a vacation, but you and I are the true enthusiasts. You’re always ready to help me plan, and once the plan is in place, you’re always ready to read reviews of restaurants and attractions and look at photos of our lodging.

As it is an even year, we made our trip to the Florida Keys. You were on the tail end of a cold on our way down, so you had a little trouble with plugged ears. You’ve always been susceptible to that, being a small-eared person. We did find that you’re now eligible for an adult dose of Sudafed, and that seemed to be what helped the most. By about halfway through the trip, your ears were doing pretty well, and you didn’t have any trouble on the plane on the way home.

I’ll write more about the our vacation below, but first, I should update about your school year. It honestly hasn’t been a great school year for you, mostly because your teacher was out on maternity leave for most of the second trimester. You weren’t too thrilled with your long-term sub. Apparently there are some loud, raucous kids in your class, and she didn’t do a good job managing the classroom environment. You said it was hard to learn, and you often expressed a pretty bad attitude toward school. That bummed your dad and me out, since you are such an enthusiastic person by nature. You have tons of school friends and had always enjoyed school before, so it was hard to hear you be so down on it. Fortunately, your main teacher is back now, and I’ve noticed your mood has been better. At your conference, which was just a day or two after your teacher’s return, we talked about the struggles you faced during her absence. You said she laid down the law when she got back, so I imagine we weren’t the only family who brought it up. I think the environment is improving, and it seems like you’re more positive about your daily school experience.

In our conference with your ELP teacher, she called out what a good leader you are. She said a lot of times students get caught up in tangents and get off-task, but you’re good at maintaining focus and reining in your ELP classmates. That made your dad and me smile a bit, since in our household, you’re usually the one running around in circles and requiring the reining in. Just about every family dinner includes some kind of critique of your behavior from your dad, whether it’s loud chewing or not sitting still or interrupting. I asked your ELP teacher if she thought you had characteristics of ADHD, and she was quite sure you do not. I have never been overly concerned about it, certainly not to the extent that I felt the need for any intervention. Still, when you do research studies and I have to fill out long surveys about your behavior, your wiggliness comes to my mind. It’s good to hear that you know how to focus and lead in a school environment. I guess when you’re at home, you’re comfortable letting loose and running laps around the dinner table.

You got to let plenty of energy out during our trip. You and your siblings swam every day, usually multiple times. We also took our traditional morning beach walks. You’ve reached the life stage where you prefer to sleep in late, but you made an exception each day to go out and get ankle-deep in the ocean with me. We saw all kinds of interesting things on our walks, from jellyfish to crabs (which ranged from tiny to huge) to lizards to sea sponges. Your favorite place to take a break was a little grotto decorated with shells and buoys. It had a swing where you liked to sit and look out over the ocean.

Along with our old favorite activities, this time we visited Pigeon Key. That’s a small island not accessible by car. People walk, bike, or take a trolley, which is what we did. Pigeon Key was the home base for the construction of the original Seven Mile Bridge when it was used for a railroad. Your dad and siblings took the historical tour, which I would have enjoyed doing, but our highest priority was snorkeling. We had heard that good snorkeling was available right off shore, so we changed into our gear and headed out. We saw all kinds of interesting things, like fish of many sizes and colors, including a big angelfish, conch in their shiny pink shells, and sea urchins. Callum came in at the end and did a little snorkeling too. I was at your exact life stage—spring break of my sixth-grade year—when I first snorkeled, and I’ve loved it ever since. It was so much fun to share that with you. You are excited to try it again. I know there are more places around the Keys we can do it, including some boat excursions to off-shore reefs. I bet you’ll help me do research for a future trip.

Back the condo, your dad and I sat by the pool, watching you kids swim and listening to the sounds of the ocean. He suggested that we go back next year rather than waiting two years. You can imagine my response to that idea, and you can also imagine whom I told first. We haven’t made any solid bookings yet, but I’m going to hold him to that promise.

Your current favorites: hanging out with friends, trip planning, watching YouTube videos, playing Gorilla Tag on the Oculus VR, being part of your school Chess Club, sports (baseball and spring soccer both start next month), helping cook, and laughing.

I’m so glad to have you as a travel buddy, Tobin. You are a shining light.

Love,

Mom