Dear Miles,

You’ve just started the third trimester of online school, which will hopefully be the last trimester you complete in such a way. I’m really proud of how well you did. You ended up with very good grades, a new membership in Geek Club, and a basically good attitude. I asked you if you feel like the school year has gone fast or slow, and you said, “SLOW.” It seems fast to me, but you’re the one who has to juggle a new learning style, new teachers, and little squares that represent new classmates. The transition to junior high was going to be big in any case, and I’m hoping that when you look back on your junior high years, you think of this one as a somewhat gentler introduction than it might have been otherwise. This year, it’s been easy for me to keep an eye on your online classes and make sure you have all your tasks organized. You didn’t have to deal with some of the social pressures that come with face-to-face interactions with your peers. Maybe, now that you’ve made some new friends through classes and Geek Club and gotten the hang of some new organizational strategies, eighth grade will be a little smoother.

Despite your complaints that online school is torture, you seem pretty engaged. You elected to take on the advanced coursework in Literacy, and you also chose to take the advanced eighth grade Seminar class. Once you’re back in person, that will be a good way to meet kids with similar interests, perhaps even ones who aren’t in Geek Club.

Our final Family Folk Machine concert is coming up, and one of the songs includes you doing a big solo. You have a nice voice with good pitch, and I’m glad we’ve been able to continue to have choir in our lives. You aren’t interested in participating on a weekly basis, but you’re mostly a good sport when I pester you to record something. You’ve done well in school band and choir this year, and you wanted to make sure to continue with both of those as we got your Fall 2021 registration set as well. One tricky issue is that we haven’t completely decided whether you’ll go in person or online. We’re cautiously optimistic about going with in-person, because by fall, all the adults in your life should be vaccinated. We’re hoping that a pediatric vaccine is on the horizon too, though probably not for an August start date. We’re also hoping that the school district keeps their mask requirements in place until all the kids are vaccinated. Our hope is that if you happen to catch it, it would follow the typical pattern and be mild for you and your brothers. I hate gambling with your health, but I was heartened by evidence that kids who get flu shots (which you do) are less likely to have serious COVID complications. We have to strike a balance between respect for your physical health and respect for your mental health, and the social growth that happens at your life stage is crucial.

Spring Break is next week, and I mentioned to you that you should get Friday’s homework done tonight (Thursday) because we’ll be leaving town right after school on Friday to go to Mubby and Skitter’s house. You seemed surprised by that news, as if no one had mentioned it to you. I guess I don’t remember having a specific conversation with you about Spring Break plans, but everybody else seemed to know. You’ve declined to be a part of group conversations a lot of the time lately, so you’ve been missing out on news. You were happy to hear about it in any case. You and Tobin didn’t get your no-parents time there that you typically spend during the summer, so the plan is that we’ll all go this weekend, then your dad, Callum and I will come home and leave you for the rest of the week. It won’t be quite as exciting as usual, considering you probably won’t go to your usual favorites like the arcade, pool, and movie theater, but I’m sure you’ll still have fun. You’ll probably play poker and eat a lot of treats.

I don’t know for sure what this summer will bring. I’m starting to get information about camps and classes, and I know you’d probably enjoy doing them. I still feel a little reluctant, though. I haven’t asked you about them yet. You’re fairly risk-averse, so maybe you wouldn’t even want to do them in-person. I just know that we’re all going to breathe a big sigh of relief when all of us are vaccinated. Your dad had his first dose yesterday, and I’m hoping to get one as soon as eligibility expands enough to allow adults without preexisting conditions.

In the absence of anything else to do and also because we genuinely like each other most of the time, we’ve been doing some good family activities. Along with our regular Saturday night hangouts, we’ve started watching the show Wandavision together. We are a mixed family in terms of our interest in binge-watching television. I’m not a big fan of the practice—I never watch more than one episode of a show in one day, and ideally I don’t even watch the same show on consecutive days. Tobin and your dad could probably watch ten in a row. I’m not sure exactly where you fall, but I’m guessing I may be outnumbered based on how many episodes of The Simpsons you quote at the dinner table. Repetition clearly doesn’t bother you, since you’d eat pasta for both lunch and dinner every day if I let you. In a nod to variety, you do eat Cheerios for breakfast most days.

Your current favorites: Fudge Stripe cookies, pasta with homemade tomato sauce, Wandavision, The Simpsons, Minecraft, playing video games with your friends (virtually) late into the night, sleeping late into the next day, wandering around the house wearing a sleeping bag, and taking long showers. I have to pester you a lot to get you into the shower in the first place, but once you do, you stay there quite a while.

I love you, Miles. I know you think this has been a torturous year, but I like having you around. I like hearing your Simpsons quotes, and I like it when you’re impressed that I can finish them with you. I like making choco-chums and helping you with your science labs. I like hearing your trombone through the closed door of your room. I like editing Family Folk Machine videos and seeing your face and hearing your voice. You’re my guy.

Love,

Mom