Dear Artie-heartie,

A frequent sight this month has been you and Callum working together on computer programming. You introduced him to a simple coding language called Scratch, and you two have been having a lot of fun together. He really feels excited and special to do something like that with you, and you seem to enjoy it as well. He’s made quite a few different games with your guidance. My favorite one was a maze. I thought I had it solved, but then it turned that finding the treasure chest was not enough—I had to find the key as well. You both got a kick out of my dismay at the false success.

You’re nearing the end of the first trimester of school, and you seem to be doing very well. Your grades are solid, you’ve been accepted into Honors English for the coming trimester, and marching band was a mostly good experience. You claim to be relieved it’s over, and I can understand why the actual football game parts wouldn’t be so fun. We had a pretty mild fall, and I don’t think you had any game nights that were too miserable, but it wouldn’t be my choice for a Friday night activity either. We did attend a couple of games to watch you play, and that part was fun, but I prefer a nice auditorium. You start jazz band this month, and that will probably be more your speed. I’m looking forward to hearing your jazz trombone stylings. As you get further into the high school band trajectory, you’ll have more opportunities to go on small- and large-scale trips for band contests and events. I bet you’ll enjoy that. Trips were always the most fun part of school activities for me, and I hope you continue to develop friendships with fellow band members.

You also seem to be really enjoying your French class. You usually walk home from school, but now and then I pick you up. French class is your last period of the day, so you always have a tête plein de français at those moments. The other day, you were really excited to tell me that you’re learning to conjugate -er verbs. I told you that I’d never met anyone else who gets worked up about verb conjugations. I don’t know if that’s strictly true, as there are a lot of language nerds in my milieu, but it’s the first time it’s come up in my immediate family. I enjoy hearing about the French you’re learning. It’s fun to share an area of interest. I compare it to analogous Spanish, you call me une espèce d’andouille, and we both chuckle. I’ve decided that you’ll be in charge of the France segment of the Great Clarke-Crall European Vacation, which for the moment exists only in our dreams.

Next month you’ll have your biannual x-ray and appointment with orthopaedics to address your scoliosis. It will be interesting to see whether our cessation of physical therapy has made any difference in your progress. You’ve certainly been growing, and I’m very proud to say that you’re vigilant about wearing your brace. I never have to nag you about wearing it, and you never complain. You do a good job making up any hours that you miss due to band or other schedule irregularities. I hope we get the news that you’re still on track to developing a fully-grown spine that sits within the normal range.

I got a call from the office that did your parotid gland surgery over the summer checking on your progress and recovery. The fact of your surgery had almost completely disappeared from my radar. It was a pretty big deal for our family at the time, but the whole thing went so well that I had almost forgotten about it. You never had any trouble playing trombone afterward, and your scar is only visible if you really look for it.

This was the first year you didn’t do anything for Halloween. In past years, you went trick-or-treating, but this time you stayed home with me and passed out candy to the neighborhood kids. You were so sweet to them, asking about their costumes and encouraging them to grab another mini Twix. You still had fun carving your pumpkin, anyway. It’s nice that you’re old enough to wield a knife responsibly.

You currently hold the position that you don’t want kids, but considering how good you are with Callum and how well you interacted with the trick-or-treaters, I hope you change your mind. Of course, you haven’t had a haircut since third grade, so you’ve been known to cling to ideas past their expiration date. On the other hand, your wild head of hair is part of what makes your surgery scar less detectable. I suppose that supports your case for haircut evasion.

Overall, you’ve seemed pretty happy and pleasant to be around this month. Your dad and I give you pep talks most mornings before school, encouraging you to take risks, explore, reach out to new people, and work toward success. They’re goofy and self-effacing, but I hope you take a little something from them. I appreciate the few minutes I get with you in the morning after the younger kids have gone to school. I hope laughing at our silly pep talks sets your day in a positive direction.

Your current favorites: wearing comfortable pants (sweatpants or pajama pants), pasta with tomato sauce, root beer and cream soda, Minecraft, Dungeons & Dragons, escaping from family cocktail hour as soon as you’ve finished your beverage, Doritos, Honey Nut Cheerios, and hanging out in your room.

Your smile makes me smile.

Love,

Mom