My dear Artemis,

As I write this, you’re in your final weeks of your first year of high school. As far as I know, all is going well. I was chatting with the mom of another freshman after your band concert, and I asked how her kid was doing. She replied, “Fine…I think.” She said she doesn’t get much information from her kid, which certainly sounded familiar to me. In your ideal world, you would only leave your room for food. We’ve been short on family meals lately due to the very busy extracurricular schedules of your little brothers, as well as a class you’ve been taking (more on that later), so I haven’t even been getting my precious family dinner check-ins as often as I’d like.

I’m glad you’re enjoying your French class so much, because that’s rich fodder for discussion. When we do sit down together, a frequent topic is whatever verb tense or phrase or construction you’ve recently learned. It’s a nice way to get a feel for your general outlook on your life. I’m learning some French out of the deal, too.

Your biggest recent accomplishment is the acquisition of your learner’s permit. You had to have it before I could register you for Drivers’ Ed, and the only summer session that worked in our schedule started in May. It was a good task to check off the list, and now you’re ready to drive. Your dad and I have both taken you out on the road several times, and you’ve had a couple of driving lessons with your instructor so far. Drivers’ Ed works a little differently here and now than it did when I was a teen. Rather than being offered through the school, a variety of private companies offer the class. Also, there is no classroom component. You do all the classroom-type work online, and you set up appointments to drive with the instructor. You also got to pick your own driving partner, and luckily your good friend Jacob was taking the same session. Also luckily, the instructor is your former elementary school P.E. teacher. I call him Mr. O’Rourke, which is not his name at all, but that’s another story. He was happy to see you and Jacob again, and he was totally open and respectful about calling you Artemis. You said he’s a good teacher and very patient.

That’s good, because you haven’t clocked a lot of hours behind the wheel yet. We’ll continue to work on it. I noticed on our last outing you seemed a lot more confident. You were no longer making some of the mistakes you made on your earlier driving experiences, like driving toward the curb and misjudging appropriate stopping distance. We also did some work on parallel parking. We went out to a quiet residential street in our neighborhood, and I put a couple of boxes (one from a pair of Nikes, one from a twelve pack of A&W cream soda) along the curb. Using my favorite method, you successfully parallel parked several times. After your first success, a person yelled “Good job!” out the window of a house. That made us laugh. I’m glad you didn’t know she was watching, though, because it might have made you nervous. The A&W box did not make it out entirely unscathed, but we did, and I hope you’re feeling more comfortable.

You’re creative, smart, and interesting. As of a moment ago when I last checked your grades, you’re doing excellent work at school. Later this summer, you’re going to take a variation on the animation camp you’ve done several times. It’s intended for older or more experienced animators, and it focuses on creating miniatures that could be used in filmmaking. I’m looking forward to seeing the work you do. You often have interesting an innovative ideas. You made a card game for Callum, and the two of you had a good time playing it together. You’ve been playing a lot of chess lately, both online and physically, and Callum was feeling a little defeated because he could never beat you or Tobin. I think the card game was a way of doing something fun for him that let him feel successful. You may seem a little surly on the outside, but your kind heart shows up in your actions.

You’ve had a couple of big band concerts lately. Mubby and Skitter joined us for both of them. First was the Jazz Showcase, in which you and the other jazz band instrumentalists showed off your skills. You and I attended that last year as spectators, before you were a participant, and that may have been what piqued your interest about joining jazz band. It’s a wonderful event, the best concert of the year in my opinion. Rather than holding it in the auditorium, where we typically see concerts, it’s held in the school cafeteria. The music department (and many parent volunteers) do a really nice job setting it up to give it a jazz club feeling, with round tables, snacks and drinks, and nice lighting and decorations. The music is excellent as well. A guest artist is usually invited, and that person gives workshops to the students and joins in on a few songs. This year it was a trumpet player, and it sounds like you had a good time learning from him and playing with the Jazz Workshop. Your school’s music program is exemplary, and I’m so glad you have the opportunity to be a part of it.

Photo by Gary Clarke

The traditional band concert was a couple of weeks later. The musical performances were also outstanding in that one. It went on pretty long, because there was much recognition of graduating seniors and speeches of gratitude for the band leaders. I appreciated their heartfelt words and acknowledge the value of celebrating their accomplishments, but it seems like a lot of that could have taken place at a banquet just for seniors. I will probably be much less grumpy about it when you’re a senior and I know a lot of the kids involved. In any case, it’s a good thing your little brothers stayed home for that one. They really enjoyed the jazz concert, but probably more for the popcorn, chocolates, and lemonade than the music. The traditional concert didn’t have any of those, so it would have been hard for young kids to sit through it. I didn’t mind, though, especially when I saw your beaming smile at the end. Thanks to Skitter for capturing a photo of it.

Photo by Gary Clarke

Your current favorites: playing chess, pasta, sleeping late, the upcoming new Zelda video game, not hitting pedestrians with the car you’re driving, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Breaking Bad. Sometimes you watch Lost and we talk about it, but you haven’t done that in a while. That’s okay, because I haven’t had a lot of spare time for TV lately, and I don’t like it when you get too far ahead of me. I’m never going to catch up in height or in French, but I have a chance on decades-old television shows.

Thanks for the wit and music you bring to our family, Artie. I love you.

Mom