Why not?
So if I manage not to accidentally delete this AND also post it today - that is a great big if right there - then that means that 15 years ago yesterday was Maple’s due date, which means of course that on Saturday she herself turns 15. Which, in the spirit of making the obvious obvious, means Chris and I have been somehow managing to do this parenting schtick for a good long while now. AND our very first baby, the baby of our 20s, is almost grown. Not quite, and there is still a good deal left to go and grow, but I think that we can all see it so readily now, in a way that you just can’t, not really, when they are small.
Anyway, Maple. After a treacherous semester at the Vermont Virtual Learning Center, after fighting like hell to complete an absurd amount of coursework and somehow pull off stellar grades, Maple has opted to go back to hybrid in-person learning at our local school. 9th grade y’all. It is actually kinda perfect. They are broken up into two different cohorts that both go to school 2 days in person. On Wednesdays, everyone is home and virtual so the school can be deep cleaned and they can see all of the kids that are in their class and not just their cohorts. Honestly, doesn’t that sound perfect? A three day school week? It is kind of what I have always wished for. And listen, I know that that seriously doesn’t work for all people, but for older middle and high school students sweet lord wouldn’t that be an incredible rhythm?
I think it is going to be great. If I don’t think about the COVID bit. (more about that maybe in a moment) I would be so thrilled if there were some massive educational overhaul and the school week wasn’t set up to reflect a workweek that may very well be irrelevant for our children. It certainly is for me and my family. And as far as I can tell, the 9-5 is evolving or devolving and has certainly never been something that we have had our sights set on, quite the contrary, and anyhow, I would love for there to be a public education option that was not 5 or even 4 days a week.
In fact, if this hybrid model is still happening in the fall, we will think long and hard about sending Eider to seventh grade at Peoples Academy. It could be ideal honestly. Especially if Earth Walk Village School is up and running again and he was able to attend both. That kid is such a champ but good grief this year has been shit for him. Like, nothing going for real. Mountain Biking was excellent and the long season was a gift but that feels forever ago now. Nordic skiing is only just now getting up and running after being waylaid for 5 weeks because of state mandates. He needs to go be around other kids. Ugh, and if I am honest I cannot even tell you how much I miss his activities. Especially violin. I have been fantasizing hard about when group classes can get up and running again. Even though it would mean going to Burlington for Suzuki or Montpelier for Orchestra. BUT I HAVE ANOTHER LITTLE STRING PLAYER COMING UP HERE SOON AND SO MAYBE IT IS TIME TO FOUND A NORTHERN VERMONT SUZUKI STRINGS PROGRAM I’M LOOKING AT YOU JESS ZEHNGUT. Yeah I know I have almost zero musical education and maybe this is a pipe dream but…
Mkay. Let’s see. What else? Wilfred is awesome. Duh. We are still navigating the 2 to 1 nap transition, yes it has taken like 4 months or forever but I think we might just be through and good grief thank god. Not an easy one. We are still nursing a ton and probably no end in sight because he is my last and babies and kids grow fast and I have enough time under my belt to know that it is odd hours of nursing and snuggling one moment to “mom you have ruined my life” the next. I think it is called perspective and our family constellation has gifted us loads of it and it is multi-directional and non-linear and bonkers awesome.
That is my people update. My work update is primarily just a massive wonder-struck gratitude love bomb. Practice Wellness Community is growing into itself in ways that are far bigger and deeper than even I could have hoped for. Co-creating with Rachel and Sam is one of the incredible boons of my life right now, and I hope, for a good long while to come. How magnificent to be cultivating a community rooted in truth and integrity and authenticity. It really feels like pushing into the very central territory of the next chapter of my life’s big work. And I am here for it. Big time. Beautycounter has been a big influence on where I stand in this other regard because in so many ways over the course of this last year, the clean beauty community supported me, and continues to support me as I find my voice as a leader.
And then one last thing and then I gotta cruise. COVID. Please y’all. Don’t let up. I think we each know a number of folks at this point - or maybe even you are one of them - that have gotten sick. As far as I can tell there have been huge spikes in cases after the Holidays, and even if it was forecast it doesn’t change the fact that people are dying and others are losing loved ones and it could really be, maybe even is, any of us. It is so hard to know what is what and we all want to trust one another and we should. But I think the best way to really do that, is by continuing to be cautious, stay home, stay distant in body but never in heart. It is more important than ever to keep our hearts open and as close as can be with one another. We have to feel it. We have to feel it. What an unimaginable tragedy it would be if not only did almost 2 million people die worldwide but if this moment in history were also the moment in which we finally and irrevocably severed our cultural capacity for empathy and compassion. So, please. Stay open. Stay safe. Both.
more soon. xxx