Saturday, September 11, 2010

Walking the Line

A year passed: winter changed into spring, spring changed into summer, summer changed back into winter, and winter gave spring and summer a miss and went straight on into autumn... until one day...

We have gone from spring to fall with what was a whirlwind summer in between. The biggest news was Momily's ongoing adventure in pregnancy and my new job doing exactly what I dreamed of doing when I enrolled in library school.

But beyond the big things we had an incredible summer: increasingly complex adventures with a kid who is always on the move; a weeklong trip to Brooklyn to catch up with my sister, her husband and daughter and her own growing belly; the devastatingly charming wedding of our dear friends Ryan and Amanda; and the big lifestyle shift of Momily finally getting to enjoy some home life after switching to a two-day-a-week work schedule.

School is back in session at Rocky Mountain and spending time around the incredible kids that go to this unique preschool is a remarkable pleasure. Today was our school picnic in Samuel P. Taylor State Park up in western Marin, a choice spot in a redwood grove with a free-flowing creek complete with logs perfect for clambering and climbing. A year ago, before going to Rocky Mountain, Mather wouldn't walk across an on-the-floor wide balance beam without holding my hand. Now?




Why? Well, she gets the confidence from the constant physical challenges she faces at a play-based preschool that goes out of its way to make kids move, to make kids climb, to make kids think about their bodies and how they can use them. Our school director puts it best: before you can make a kid sit still at a desk, they need to know how to run, climb, and hang. They can't sit, think and learn until they can control their body.

Her confidence and strength have bloomed in the past year, and we are very grateful to be part of an incredible San Francisco institution and a wonderful community of parents and kids.