June, 2017

It’s hard not to be dramatic about 8th grade graduation.

I’m told by reliable sources that the high school years scream by in a flash – plus once they start driving you have even less time together as their chauffeur, so the memories will be fewer and farther between.

I don’t want this. Annika is so much fun now, so beautiful to watch and hang out with. No work, no effort, so easy, so much dividend being payed back…

If I think of it Annika has already had a number of “graduations”. It started with the monkey bars at Commons Beach; she would always be up for an afternoon there, to play and work on the monkey bars. Once she had them there was one less reason to go to Commons Beach, and we soon stopped…when I go there now I’m fixated with the monkey bars, remembering when…

There was the play area at Rideout Community Center. For both Annika and the twins it was a common place to go in the winter to play while Andrea was working. We had so much fun there…until one winter they didn’t want to return (they thought they had outgrown it, I disagreed)…in Fall 2017 the twins will have their 4th grade at Rideout while the Tahoe Lake school is renovated, and I’m sure when I take my 4th graders to school I will be overrun with memories of them (and Annika) as toddlers…

Graduations. An indication of success and accomplishments and growth. It’s the growth part that’s…sobering.

And I know Annika has such a different perspective, as all teenagers do at that age; it’s all about looking ahead (growth is a good thing, she’s getting closer to driving)!

People tell me to appreciate these years; if I could I would voluntarily over-appreciate them, but I just can’t get enough.