Dear Callum,

I know I’m supposed to be moaning about this whole social distancing + shelter-in-place (in practice though not law in Iowa), but honestly, I’m having a pretty good time.  It seems like we’re always so busy—between school and all your brothers’ activities, we barely get any time to just hang out together.  In the last month, we’ve had a lot of that.  I do get a little overwhelmed by trying to meet all your and your brothers’ needs sometimes, since you’re at different academic levels and have different interests, but most of the time we do okay.  We’re probably not being as academically rigorous as we could be, but we do try to get some school-type tasks done every day.  Beyond that, we’ve been reading a lot of books, taking a lot of walks, and playing a lot of board games.  You’ve also played  fair amount of games on PBSkids.org, but we’re counting that as educational.

We’ve been playing Cards Against Humanity Family Edition, and you’re a pretty fun guy to have as a participant.  The premise of the game is that one person reads an incomplete statement and the other players choose from cards in their hands that make a funny or outlandish answer.  The first player selects his/her favorite answer.  You just pick randomly from the hand you’ve been dealt, and a reasonable percentage of the time, yours ends up being the funniest.  That means you can play without getting frustrated.  “I just pretend that I can read,” you explained to your dad.

Spring finally seems to be creeping in, although there are some chilly days with possible snow in the near forecast.  We’ve had some beautiful days and evenings, though, and surely there are more to come.  That’s so important during these days of staying home all the time.  You can’t play with your school friends or neighborhood friends, and you can’t go on the playground equipment, but at least you can run around the yard.  You and your brothers have been playing together a lot.  I love that you guys mostly get along.  I feel bad for kids who have no other kids to play with right now.  I also feel bad for their parents, who never get a break and are probably trying to work from home too.

Your spring allergies are starting to become an issue.  We haven’t gotten to the full-throttle eye swelling that usually comes around in May, but you’re already getting a runny nose and itchy eyes.  Every year I hope it’s not too bad for you, because you love playing outside, and I hate to limit your outdoor time.  We do our best with nightly baths, including full hair wash, and changing every stitch of clothing on you after you’ve been outside.  The good news is that it passes after a few rough weeks.

You had a great time on our Florida Keys trip.  Tobin taught you how to play shuffleboard, and you also got good at “noodling,” or floating around the pool on a pool noodle.  You’ve always been a bit nervous in the water, so it was fun to see you having a great time all over the place.  You also really enjoyed making sand castles and joining in on family dance parties.  You got pretty good at that side-shuffle Hammer dance when your dad played “Can’t Touch This.”  You do not own any Hammer pants (yet).  You’ve been very motivated to get dressed every morning.  While your brothers would be happy to lounge around in their pajamas for days on end, you insist on a full change of clothes every day, even if we haven’t been outside.  You’re still a little guy; the size 4T jeans I usually dress you in are still pretty droopy on your butt.  They’re definitely going to wear out in the knees before you’ve outgrown them.  Just like your brothers, your ankles always show out the bottom of your pants before the waist is too big, which can make dressing you difficult.  It’s a good thing shorts season is coming up.

You’re in a really fun stage right now, always saying and doing funny things.  Last night, when I thought you were just about asleep, you popped up and said, “How does the Easter Bunny get in if he doesn’t have any hands?” Other times you surprise me with your vocabulary.  You asked for “another portion” of snack the other night, and when you recently saw me accomplish some task, you said, “That’s a good technique.”  You enjoy looking at the letters in words when we read stories, and you’re getting the hang of sounding out words.  You also seem to know a lot of math, too.  You can usually do simple math problems in your head.  I don’t know if your dad worked on that with you, or if your brothers did, or if you did it in school, but I’m impressed.  We’ll try to keep your brain active during this time so you’re on track for kindergarten in the fall.

Your current favorites:  Mario Maker on the Wii U, the “What Should Marcus Do?” stories Miles has written for you, playing Beyblades with Tobin, cuddling with me, eating treats, sleeping in, and generally being sweet.  Every day I feel grateful that I have you, because your hugs and funny observations and excitement about life make me so happy.  Your whole body wiggles with joy, and that makes my whole heart wiggle with joy, and also sometimes my body.  I mean, nobody can resist the Hammer dance.

I certainly can’t resist you.

Love,

Mommy