Dear Tobin,

This month brings us into our busiest time of year. Springtime is always a whirlwind, with concerts and sports practices and games and school events and trying to squeeze some family time in there too. While I do prioritize family dinner, it’s plain impossible on the nights that you have soccer practice straight into a baseball game. Naturally, the soccer fields and the baseball diamonds are across town from each other, so it’s a logistical challenge as well. Still, it seems less exhausting for you than for your dad and me, so we continue to support you in your multi-sport lifestyle. It will be nice once school lets out so the late nights at the ballpark have less impact on your sleep.

You’re feeling a lot better about school now. Your teacher has returned from her maternity leave, and I think your classroom atmosphere is much improved. Your general mood and attitude have returned to the cheerful Tobin I know. That’s a huge relief. Your dad and I were worried that you were getting turned off of school because things weren’t going well with your class. It’s nice to see you happy and excited about school most days now.

You’re a member of student council, and one of your tasks is visiting kids in younger grades and reading to them. Several times you’ve mentioned how much you enjoy that, and how cute and nice the little kids are. You’ve always been fond of young kids and great with Callum. I bet you’d be a good babysitter, teacher, and dad one day.

Photo by Mubby

You continue to have enthusiasm for food. Not only have you expanded your palate lately, you’ve also expanded your stomach. Your dad and I are sure you’re on a growth spurt, because you’ve been insatiable. As dinner winds down many nights, you start making laps around the table (not unusual) asking people if they’re going to finish whatever is on their plates (unusual). The pantry snacks disappear quickly, and you usually pack an extra container of Goldfish in your backpack to have at school on top of your regular packed lunch.

You are also excited about cooking. You did most of the work in making your own pasta the other night for scrounge night, and you requested that we make chile colorado together this weekend. It’s a good time to do it, because the sage and oregano are popping up in our herb garden. You also hope to go to the Mexican market with me to pick up dried chiles. I like having you in the kitchen with me because I appreciate your jolly nature and genuine helpfulness. It’s nice to not have to scramble to set the table because you can keep an eye on whatever is on the stove.

You love being outdoors, including getting into messy fun with your friends down in the creek near our house. Most of your friends are as busy with activities as you are, so the wildboy life isn’t in full swing yet, but I’m sure you’ll be living more of it as the spring transitions into less-busy summer. Last summer, nearly every day the doorbell would ring and a ragtag gang of kids on bikes would ask for you. I don’t anticipate this summer going much differently.

You’re excited to start middle school next year. You have an orientation coming up, and I hope there’s something for parents at some point. We sort of missed that when Artemis went into junior high, because it was the first pandemic year when nearly everyone was online. That meant we didn’t get the same kind of introduction to junior high that a family would in a typical year. We scrambled through it and got up to speed when Art returned to in-person school for eighth grade, but it will be nice to do it the traditional way with you. This year is unusual in that the junior high is transitioning to a middle school model, so the current fifth graders will also be graduating from elementary school with you. You’re excited that you won’t have to be in the youngest grade in the school. We haven’t gotten your schedule yet, but you filled out a form expressing your interest in a wide range of electives. I hope you get some good ones.

Your current favorites: playing Gorilla Tag on the Oculus with your friends, playing outside, lingering over cocktail hour with the family, eating many different foods in large quantities, soccer, baseball, books by Rick Riordan, watching shows and sports with your dad, and having zest for life. You’re a sparkler.

I love that smile. I love that kid.

Love,

Mom

Dear Callum,

We started our Spring Break trip to the Keys in a pickle: you came down with a sore throat on the morning we left. We gave it a couple of days to see if it was a virus that would pass on its own, but it didn’t, so your dad took you to a local clinic. One strep throat diagnosis and a penicillin prescription later, you were much better. I’m sorry the trip didn’t get off to a great start for you, but the antibiotics worked quickly and you were still able to have a great time.

Lucky for us, the weather was gorgeous, and you spent a lot of time in the pool. While you’re still a beginner at swimming, you’re a lot more confident than you used to be, and we were able to trust you to stay safe in the pool without a bigger person right next to you. You’ve been taking swimming lessons, and you were able to use some of your skills on vacation. One goal you set for yourself was for all three siblings to jump in the pool together, and you did just that.

An activity we did that you really enjoyed was a trip to Pigeon Key. That’s a small island off the main drag that was the home base for railroad workers who built the original Six Mile Bridge. You took the historical tour with your dad and Art, and when that was done, you joined Tobin and me for some snorkeling under the pier. You got the hang of snorkel breathing pretty well, and the water was shallow enough that it wasn’t too intimidating for you. We saw lots of colorful and interesting fish, including some very big ones, and you pointed out sea urchins to us. You had so much fun that you used the snorkel in the pool when we got back to our condo, and you were able to do more face-down swimming than you had done previously.

Photo by Denny

Another goal you set for the trip was to eat mozzarella sticks. I know it sounds like an easily-attainable goal, but we don’t eat in restaurants very often at home, and mozzarella sticks are best consumed fresh out of the fryer. I was looking through different area restaurant menus and saw that Porky’s Bayside had mozzarella sticks on order. We had never been there before, but they also had a mini-golf course, which sounded like a fun thing to do on a nice evening. It ended up being lots of fun, and the food was great. You loved the mozzarella sticks and ribs (though you didn’t think they were quite as good as Skitter’s ribs), and my shrimp tacos were delicious. We had a lot of fun playing mini-golf, too. The course was very pretty, with fun water features and tropical plants. I think Porky’s Bayside will be on our “must-do” list for our next trip down.

Unfortunately, vacations have to end, so we got back to real life. Spring is always super busy around here, with sports and music concerts and school events. You’ve been enjoying school this year, especially ELP and reading. You like playing with your friends Griffin, Landon, Josie, and Norah. On Thursdays, you have recess right before dismissal time, so I sometimes get to watch you playing with your friends when I come to pick you up. Your group is often examining rocks, bugs, and other elements of the natural world. I enjoyed being a chaperone on your school trip to the Stanley Art Museum a week or two ago. You and your friends were respectful and interested, and it was really interesting to learn more about some of the artwork. I even got to sit next to you on the bus. Third graders can sing “The Wheels on the Bus” very loudly.

Your school started a chess club, and you and Tobin have been attending that after school once a week. You have been holding your own just fine, even though you’re one of the younger members of the club. You often get paired with a sixth-grader for a match. Recently, you beat a sixth-grader in five moves. She was a beginner, so she wasn’t too surprised by the outcome, but it was still cool. You’ve also been crazy about solving your Rubik’s cube lately. Until recently, you could only solve one side. That’s more than I can solve, so I was plenty impressed by just that. You kept studying and practicing algorithms, and now you can solve it every time. You’ve been timing yourself and sometimes asking me to time you, and now you can consistently do it in about two minutes, sometimes less. You are a sharp little guy.

Your current favorites: Rubik’s cube, the Masterminds book series by Gordon Korman, baseball (both practicing with your team and playing in the park with your dad and Tobin), cookie tubes, ribeye steaks, playing Gorilla Tag on the Oculus with your friends, and being cozy with your stuffed animals at night.

You’re such a joy, my sweet Callum. Thank you for having a wonderful vacation with me, and thank you for making even normal days better than normal.

Love,

Mom

Happy spring, my dear.

We kicked off March with an unusually-early Spring Break. It was a great time to get away from grey and gloomy Iowa and spend some time in the Florida Keys. We had a fantastic week, eating at our favorite restaurants, spending lots of time in the pool and the beach, engaging in a little cultural education, and enjoying perfect weather. It was 78F and sunny pretty much the entire time. Our travels were mostly smooth, and except for Callum getting strep throat, it was a near-perfect trip. Even the strep throat got addressed quickly, so I think we can all agree it was a great time.

We returned for the second time to the same condo, which is nice because it’s bigger than ones we’ve rented previously. You’re a person who enjoys privacy, and this space allowed you to have your own room. You skipped out on some of our earlier pool and beach trips, choosing instead to sleep in, but that’s okay. Vacation fun is different for everyone, and I’m glad you got to mix up some relaxation and adventure. You did get a kick out of mini-golf. We tried a new restaurant, Porky’s Bayside, mostly because they recently opened up a mini-golf course and it seemed like a fun way to spend an evening. The restaurant turned out to be delicious (not that you tried anything unusual—you remain committed to your narrow-range diet), and we all had a good time putt-putting around the waterfalls and foliage.

One notable change for you is that you spent a week without your scoliosis brace. At your last check-in with your orthopedist, he told you that your growth is nearly complete. That means your spinal curve is unlikely to progress any further, and it’s currently in the “acceptable for a normal life” range. He said that it’s a best practice to continue wearing your brace overnight, but you no longer have to put it on right after school and wear it until you leave for school in the morning. What’s more, he said there’s not a lot of evidence showing that overnight bracing makes much difference at this stage. With that in mind, your dad contacted the orthopedics clinic before our trip and asked whether it would be okay for you to take a week off. They agreed that it seemed reasonable, so you spent the week in spinal freedom. It was a lot easier on us, because traveling with a medical device is a hassle, and I know you enjoyed not having to wear it. That’s probably why you relished your sleeping hours even more than usual. You’ll have another appointment in a couple of months, so we’ll see what the orthopedics team has to say about your progress and your future.

Your biggest interest right now is still film. You saw almost all the films nominated for major-category Oscars, and we had a good time watching the ceremony together. You’re also taking a foray into filmmaking. You have been writing what you describe as a TV show, though I’m not sure exactly how that’s defined these days. In any case, it’s a multi-part, serialized piece of narrative fiction, and you’ve recruited some of your friends to act in it. You recently purchased an external mic to use as part of your filming hardware, and you say you’re going to start shooting in the next week or two. I hope it works out for you. It’s an ambitious project, and it could be a lot of fun. It’s nice to see you passionate and excited about something. One thing your dad and I sometimes fret about is that you have a lot of academic strengths but no clearly-defined interests. We thought music might be that for you, but your enthusiasm for school band has been waning. Filmmaking may be that type of area of focus for you. I hope you can continue to develop your skills and remain interested.

Your current favorites: comfy clothing, working on your film project, pasta, discussing foreign language idiosyncrasies, and cracking jokes.

You’re an interesting person with interesting ideas, Artemis. I’m looking forward to seeing what your creative brain puts together in the coming months. I love you so much.

Love,

Mom