The Epidemic

WRITE. Every day in March write a slice of life story on your own blog.

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      Something's in the air. And it's not good.  I had two students go home today with the stomach bug.  Not too unusual because we know how quickly germs can spread especially in a classroom or school.  One of us at our household has been hit and the dreadful waiting and wondering if the rest of us will.  I am hearing from colleagues that their classrooms have had low numbers because of various illnesses going around. I guess we have to chalk it up to "it's that time of year".         

      What I do find more puzzling is the concussion epidemic, so it seems.  I had a student out for a couple weeks during football  season (4 of his teammates also received concussions) and in the last week I have had two diagnosed with concussions.  One hit his head during basketball, the other while sledding.  I don't remember hearing about concussions when I was growing up playing sports or participating in active games.  Why? Are sports that much more competitive and hard core or were we unaware or ignore signs of a concussion.  No matter the reason, we need to take this injury seriously.  We can't rush our kids back to school and especially not to sports.  Their brains are precious gifts that need tender loving care so they can use them to think, wonder and be the future of our world.

Needed: Cat Whisperer

WRITE. Every day in March write a slice of life story on your own blog.

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GIVE. Comment on at least three other slice of life stories/blogs

I have heard of a horse whisperer, a dog whisperer and even a book whisperer. I am in need of a cat whisper. I desperately need one. I have two cats who do not get along and cause a ruckus in our home. I am at my whits end.  Please advise if you have words of wisdom in how we can work with our cats. They are continuously...

• Scratching doors to go outside
• Scratching doors to get indoors
• Ripping screens (We can not open windows for fresh air because of bugs)
• Pouncing on us while sleeping
• Fighting with each other
• Cuddling and then turning on us and scratching
• Grabbing and biting our legs as we go up or downstairs
• Jumping on kitchen counters

and the list goes on...but I really want it to STOP!

Use the Pan

WRITE. Every day in March write a slice of life story on your own blog.
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     I cannot emphasis enough the importance of using the pan.  Last night my daughter told me her tummy was not feeling well. She put on her jammies and went to bed with "the pan" in hand without complaint. Unusual for my daughter to head to bed without a fight, I knew her complaints were legit. A half hour later my son is yelling down the stairs, "Mom, Helena is puking!" And puking she was, all over herself and her bed. There sitting on the floor was a perfectly clean, spotless pan, "the pan". The pan that is designated just for this purpose.  Don't get me wrong, I was feeling awful for my daughter, vomiting is one of the WORST! But, if she had just reached slightly over and grabbed the pan I would not have had to encounter the laundering of the sick covered bedding.  GAG! This is the second worst thing. After disposing of the heavily soaked and coated items, I took to the laundry room.  Bedding, clothing and last of the detergent filled the washer.

     This morning when planning to transfer  the clothes to the drier, I found the laundry sitting in disgustingly dark, dirty, and smelly water. PERFECT. Now is not the time for my washer to fail me. I have sick covered and contaminated clothing to clean, but it will not drain. Service can come Tuesday. Tuesday? But, it's only Saturday. So, I trudged down to the basement, plunged my hands into the ice cold water, removed, wrung and discarded the soiled laundry.   Thankfully, when I went racing to my daughter's side when I heard coughing this morning, in her hands she was grasping, "The Pan"!  Good job, Helena!  Later, when she's better, we'll go shopping and pick out new sheets. and a blanket.

Car Crisis #2

 

Sitting off the side of highway 9 on a patch of itchy burnt grass, my son says smiling, "This is exciting mom; breaking down, no brakes." He was not sitting in the driver's seat when the car just completely turned off.  No power steering or brakes. Thankfully I was able to slow down enough in the breakdown lane to pull into an abandoned parking lot and pull the emergency brake.  Ah, breathe, in out in out. We were safe. 

 

Now, think.  

We need a tow truck. 

Damn, I don't have AAA. 

Luckily I do have a dependable friend who I can trust and fall back onto when such a crisis arises. 

 

Sitting beside our car a dragonfly landed on my arm..."good luck" my kids yell. Really? How is the situation we are in at the moment lucky, I wonder, and realize we are very fortunate.  First, we had just gotten off interstate 495 onto a small highway.  We were in a parking lot, not the side of the road, we broke down in the town we live in, only 5 minutes from home, and Reggie has Triple AAA.

 

Waiting for the service truck to arrive another lucky creature landed on me, a lady bug. Reggie then arrived, assuring us the tow truck was coming shortly and then took my kids to pick up some lunch so we could have a road side picnic.  As always, I was prepared with a book emergency. I took out my book and read a few chapters to de-stress.  Yes, we were lucky today!

 

I'm not so sure how lucky I will feel when I am without a car, but living in the moment I felt very fortunate and thankful.   

 

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I'm Stuck

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I'm stuck like a kitten in a tree, glue to paper and a 5th grade student who can't think of a thing to write about.  I go through phases when words just come and I can put pencil to paper, other times I just don't feel inspired.  I don't feel I have anything worthy to write. I am stuck.

 

Right now life is like groundhog day, basically the same routine over and over.  Don't get me wrong there are times I crave routine.  I know what to expect and can carry on with my day with no unexpected surprises thrown at me to make life complicated. 

 

For the last two weeks of summer my days start with bringing the kids to camp.  This gives me a block of time to meet with my co-teacher and plan for the new school year.  I have a chance to do some school shopping and then run errands.  When the clan is done with camp it's lunch, cello practice and hanging out until it's time to prepare an early dinner.  Then it's out the door to football practice.  

 

No complaints, but just not a lot of variety or life lessons to share at the moment.   See you next week, hopefully with a slice worth writing about.

 

A Football Family

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Your summer changes when your kid decides to join the football team. Summers schedules are dictated by the practice season which starts the first week of August, Monday-Thursday from 6:00-8:00. That means vacation plans are set for July and any August activities or spontaneous adventures are often cut short to be back for practice. Mornings are lazy because your player in training is exhausted and sore and wants to sleep the morning away.  

With that being said, the camaraderie among parents and teammates are encouraging to any first time football family. Parents watch, cheer, and socialize on the sidelines as all teams practice on the same fields and at the same time. Walking towards the fields, anticipating a night of sweating, groaning and cheering there is such a sense of community and belonging among the crowd. Watching the players, I am proud and impressed with their hard work, dedication, and character building gained though the team sport.

The season has just begun. I am learning along with my son, the schedule, the equipment, the players, the coaches, the positions, and I am loving every minute of it!  We are looking forward to a fun and rewarding season. GO RANGERS! 

Sunset

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Tonight I saw the most beautiful night sky as I was traveling home from a micro-vacation. I was fortunate the roads were clear so I could watch the changing sky without battling traffic.  My words do not capture the beauty or give justice to the sight of a beautiful sunset...


Dusk approaches and

a dome of gray clouds

cover the Earth.

My eye descend toward he horizon

my imagination takes over as I see

White sandbars stretch across the sky

rays of color glimmer

wispy clouds become

pink and blue cotton candy.

and soft yellow feathers of a bird,

Upon the mounds of vanilla ice cream

An orange falling below the horizon

splashing its juice of delicious color as it says

farewell.

Black clouds and blue sky 

bid us goodnight.

A sweet

sensational

sunset 

from our star 

The Sun

A Teacher's Schedule

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A teacher's schedule is a dream in my eyes. 

I love the scheduled days throughout the year.  Working five days towards goals and curriculum expectations. The weekends off are a perfect break for regrouping and family time. The unscheduled time of summer allows for setting our own daily plans. We may choose for a leisurely morning, time with family or professional development in our pjs. I love the opportunity to be spontaneous, to make last minute plans to meet friends or go to the beach for the day.  It also provides time for independent learning, time for professional development of choice and planning for a new year with a new set of students.

The most difficult adjustment within our schedule is working so closely with colleagues throughout the school year to not seeing them on a regular basis or at all during the summer months. We spend so much time together planning curriculum,  to grade level meetings, team meetings to eating lunch together that a break from each other is probably a healthy thing, but, I miss my colleagues.

Tonight I had the pleasure to meet two of my very close colleagues and friends. It was great to see that already the summer sun has given them a healthy glow and a rejuvenation that all teachers need and crave. Laughing and sharing stories over dinner and a cocktail reminded me how lucky I am to have great friends and colleagues and how fortunate I am to love my job, and have the best schedule ever! 

My Neighbors Rock!

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This week our family took a mini-vacation to visit Mystic, CT.  We had three fabulously fun filled days. Our first day we spent exploring the sands and waters at Ocean Park Beach. The following two days we ventured to the Mystic Aquarium and Mystic Seaport. 

Getting there was not so simple. I drive a 2004 Subaru Outback. It's getting up there in years and mileage, so before taking the drive I made sure I had the oil changed and checked. At 8:30AM Sunday morning, the car was packed, the kids and neighbor piled in, a quick stop for an ice coffee and we were on our way.  A mile down the road I glanced at my dashboard and an orange light illuminated. I looked again and read Check Engine. Crap! How could this be happening? I wondered. I drove along hoping it would turn off. Knowing better than to ignore the signal I spotted an oil change service, pulled in and asked for help. As I explained my situation smoke started seeping thought the sides of the front hood, NOT a good sign. After inspecting under the hood and below the engine, the gentleman's face appeared at my window, not bearing good news. Our vacation would end before it even started. There was an oil leak in the engine. The car could be driven to a garage, but the leak needed to taken care of immediately or the engine would be shot. 

Surprisingly, we all took this news in stride, I mean what else could we do? During the quick ride back home, we brainstormed what we could do to create a "vacation at home". As we pulled into the driveway my neighbor was exiting his house to pick up his wife and newly born daughter from the hospital. Ethan, who was with us, jumped out and yelled across the lawn, "Daddy I missed you so much, I blew up the engine!" Smiling, his dad asked what happened. After explaining, without hesitation, he quickly offered his car. I declined, feeling uneasy accepting his offer. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He jumped in the car, drove it over to my driveway and showed me how to manage the controls. Within 10 minutes we were packed and once again on our way to Mystic. We were only 1 hour behind schedule (thanks to the boys who figured out this important piece of information). I was so humbled and thankful for having such kind, helpful neighbors. I know I would do the same for them, but I find it hard to be on the receiving end. The fact that our vacation actually did happen, made us all enjoy it all that much more, and we were sure to live in the moment throughout the whole trip! (a conversation started by a 7 & 10 yr. old, and an other post) Thank you, neighbors, for lending us your car and for making our trip possible!

Now, it's trying to figure out what to do with the car. Fix it or ditch it?

 

You Know You're Old When. . .

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When I was young I took everything in stride. I lived in the moment. As an adult, everything is just that little bit harder.

As a kid I was never bothered by or even notice the heat and humidity. I welcomed it. As long as I had water to run through or jump in, it was all good. Now, the heat slows me down, I lack energy and truly I can be a little irritable. Not the most pleasant mom to be around.

As a teenager, I could sunbathe for hours to get that perfect tan. Now, I seek cover to prevent sun damaged skin.

As a kid, I welcomed the cold temperatures as well. I loved the white flakes that blanketed our winters, and I enjoyed the sports and chores the snow brought with it. Now, I just assume the cold stay away. I dread the scraping, shoveling and chills I can never seem to escape.

As a kid, I could run and play outside all day and never feel tired or winded. Now, I'm tired by doing household chores and by mid-afternoon I could take a nap (and often do if I have the chance).

As a kid, my head would hit the pillow at night and I was out for the night. Now, I fall asleep to awake at 3:00 in the morning with a two hour bout of insomnia.

As a kid, I could eat whatever I wanted and my body knew when it had enough. Now, I can look at an ice cream and the cellulite forms on my thighs, and I just can't control my food intake.

As a kid, summer vacation seemed to be endless. Time would tick slowly and days would last for years. Now, I blink and my kids are 10 and 6 and I have been teaching for 20 years.

As a kid, I had a great memory.  I remembered everything.  Now, I enter a room and sometimes forget why I am there.

As a kid, when I looked into the mirror I smiled and thought I looked great.  Now, I still think I look pretty good for my age, until I put my glasses on.  Then I see my mother looking back at me.  I see the lines and wrinkles forming, I and understand why god made our eyes also begin to deteriorate at age 40.  The good news is, with getting older comes knowledge and wisdom, but it does not change that the aging body and mind are NOT fun.

Visiting a Long Time Friend

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Today I visited an old friend.  A friend that I have known since I can remember. I think of her throughout the year, but only see her during summer vacations or an occasional school vacation.  As I exited the car, I anticipated her familiarity. I could hear her calling. I inhaled her distinct scent, felt her warm embrace, and when I saw her rush towards me it felt just like old times, as if no time had gone by. 

One of my closest friends will always be the ocean; her roaring waves, her salty smell, and her soft sand transfers me to a place of tranquility.  Sitting in my beach chair, I just took her all in.  It had been too long.  This was a first visit of 2013. 

When I need to escape, relax, unwind or even be rejuvenated, the beach is my savior. Today having three kids in tow didn't even disrupt the positive effects the ocean has on me.  At the ocean, I allow myself to "be", be in the moment.  I linger along the coast, to take in the sights, sounds, smells and feelings.  I am in no rush to leave my friend of many years.  I want to embrace every second until we see each other again.

Now, there is one thing that really irritates me when I am trying to visit my friend. It's people. I realize that my friend is very popular and loved by many, but why must others who visit her sit so close to the spot I strategically place my belongings to have a pleasant visit?  I take my time to find the perfect place to be with her. I  allow space between others to avoid sand on my blanket, obstructions to the water, and people smoking cigarettes.  Today, others seemed to think my little plot of sand was prime real estate.  I did not let them interfere with my visit.  I went for a stroll to beach comb; collecting rocks and crab legs.  Along the way I found another spot to set up camp and visit for the remainder of the day.  The ocean is an amazing friend who embraces and accommodates all who visit and tries to meet the needs of all. 

94 degrees, hazy and breezy.  Water...great temp and big waves to body surf.

A fabulous day to visit a friend.


 

Be Someone's Hero

Tuesday Slice of Life Challenge ...
I am excited to explore my newest passion, writing,
with slicers from Two Writing Teachers.
 

 

A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.  (Dictionary.com)



My hero?...I have a number of people I admire, look up to, and aspire to be like.

I am a big fan of authors. Sharon Creech, Kate Dicamillo, Eve Bunting, Linda Urban, Tim Green, and Donalyn Miller are just a few of the many talented writers that I truly respect. It is evident through the images they create through writing that they are talented, dedicated, hard working, creative and have a passion for what they do.  They are an inspiration. Today our classroom had the pleasure to meet a hero via Skype. Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of a favorite book of mine, One For the Murphy's was kind enough to make time for us and share her story, her personal story as a young girl, mom and writer. Lynda is an artistic writer.  When you read her words you live the character's life.  Thank you for your honesty and down to earth nature.  We were honored to be invited into your life as if we were old friends.  An inspiration to me and my students.

I have never met Amy Block, mother of 9 children. I know of her and her amazing family from her blog Building the Blocks . She uprooted her family from the United States and is now living, teaching, and creating a ministry in Guatemala, where two of her children were born. It takes faith, courage, and compassion to lead the life she has chosen. Her dedication to children of the world is commendable and selfless.  If we could all possess just a fraction of her compassion the world would be a better place.

A strong man who has an unconditional love for children and sports would describe my dad.  Unfortunately it was not until I was older that I saw the love, attention and interest for his grandchildren that I understood his strength.  His nightly calls to talk, question, read and sing with his grandchildren modeled what was important, they were.  His grandchildren are the light of his life.  He follows and watches (when he can) every sporting event they participate. He brags to his friends about how smart his grandkids are.  Even now when recovering from a stroke, the best therapy is seeing his grandchildren. His eyes light up with recognition, his mouth turns up into a smile, and a story emerges from his lips about his grandchild. He shows the strength and determination to learn language again so he can again model the traits of what is important in life.

My mom, is amazing.  She is giving, generous, and strong.  She never forgets a birthday, sympathy or congratulations card even when trying to manage my father’s stroke rehabilitation.  She never fails to present a gift for a new baby, graduation, or birthday even when she’s overwhelmed with doctors, therapists, and medications. She cares for grandchildren, a dog, the house, the yard.  She does it all even when she’s exhausted andworking part time as a substitute teacher. My mother makes every person in her life feel special. Putting others first makes her a heroic person in my eyes.

Thank you to my heroes for being who you are and inspiring others to be themselves.  If I could encapture the generosity of my mother, the strength of my dad, the courage of Amy and the ability to create images with words as authors do, I would be one hell of an amazing person.  I would be someone’s hero!

Screen Free Week

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I am excited to explore my newest passion, writing,
with slicers from Two Writing Teachers.

This past week my family observed Screen Free Week.  Surprisingly I did it! I was screen free all week and enjoyed it.  My kids were successful until Friday night when they were invited to watch a movie at our neighbors.  I welcomed the break, so I bent the rules for them.

The guidelines state no screen time including television, movies, video games, computer & texting.  Television, video games and texting are not a problem for me since I do not partake in watching, playing or texting anyway (I text very little, and did allow for emergencies). My down fall is the computer. I am on my ipad way too much.  I read educational blogs and write a personal and classroom blog, but sometimes I am on it for no real purpose. I find myself checking and rechecking emails or tweets or playing Ruzzle.

During the week I allowed myself to check my e-mail in the morning and afternoon at school for work and kid scheduling purposes.  My slice of life, I hand wrote, but gave myself permission to type and submit it for the week.  The only time I felt a pull to get on the computer was when I questioned something and wanted to research information. The one true benefit of the Internet that I love and missed is having information at my finger tips and being able to obtain it.  Instant gratification.

I am so glad that I took a break from my computer this week.  I knew before, but now have evidence that I do NOT need my computer as I have used it in the past.  I want to change my habits so that I limit my computer time to mornings, at work and evenings when kids have gone to bed.  I do not want my computer time to take away opportunities to be with my children, exercising or learning new things through different avenues. 

It is so easy to get sucked in to the quick access of technology.  I am glad I participated, noticed and am changing my computer habits.  It will be better for me and my family.

Finding Our Words

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As I sit here struggling to find the right words for my post I can't help but think of my dad who just had a stroke. The stroke effected the left side of his brain, the language center. He has aphasia. A condition that has taken both receptive and expressive language from him. His brain is full of  knowledge and experiences from the last 84 years of  his life. He knows people, places and things, but he struggles to put words to match those faces, names and objects. His eyes and mannerisms communicate his fear, frustration, sadness, recognition and hope. 

 
Putting things in perspective I know that trying to find the right words to write today are not nearly as important as my dad learning words again so he can express his thoughts, needs and wants.  I have not lost the written word, I merely have the desire to improve.  Re-learning language to communicate through spoken words is a long and difficult process. With hard work and determination I have faith that we will both succeed in finding our words.

Escape

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I always look forward to a low key Spring Break. Our week is usually spontaneous and relaxing. We catch the Boston Marathon on Monday and then see what other activities will occupy our time during the week. I enjoy being unscheduled. I enjoy the reading, walks to town, just hanging out and the chance to just get up and go with no urgency or sense of time. With that being said, there is no denying that I also feel the need to "escape". An escape from the typical, from the every day routine of work, home, cook, clean, errands, activities, repeat five days a week. Even spending days off at home, there is the pull of laundry, cleaning, cooking etc. My ultimate escape is the ocean. The sand, the water, the beach. Ahh! We were so fortunate that my sister offered her Cape house for the second weekend of our Spring Break.

As soon as I stepped on to the sand, my feet sank, my body relaxed and my heart filled with joy. I can't put into words how the ocean pulls me into another world. It creates a sense of calmness, peace and tranquility. Walking along the shore I came across this design of shells and it spoke exactly to what I was feeling.

It didn't matter that it was 48 degrees and windy. My hood covered my ears and my down jacket wrapped around my body keeping the chill away. The sun was shining, there was an ocean breeze, the waves were crashing, and that makes me feel like I'm in a DREAM.

Three days of escaping to the beach allows the leisure of time. Time to lounge in the morning with a cup of coffee. Hours of playing games and dancing to music with the kids. A stretch of the day reading. Daily walks to collect sea shells. The ease of eating out and being served. My escape to the beach was the perfect way to end a week, and I look forward to my next escape to the beach, even if it's just for a day trip.

Marathon Monday

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Marathon Monday is a joyous day. An occasion many Bostonians and surrounding towns look forward to year after year. After yesterday it will never quite be the same. My eyes tear up, my heart breaks a little more each time I get a glance at the news.

Ever since I was young, I cheered on the thousands of runners. Whether I was at the starting line in Hopkinton or along the route in Ashland, Natick, Heartbreak Hill, Kenmore Square or volunteering at the finish line in Boston, I did not miss the opportunity to be a part of Boston's and my family's tradition to encourage the inspiring individuals to complete their goal or dream of finishing 26.2 miles. It was watching these dedicated runners, that sparked a desire in me to one day run and finish the Boston Marathon. I did it not once, but three times (all unofficial, as a bandit).

Yesterday, as I was watching from the sidelines, as I do each third Monday of April, I felt the community come together as one. The spectators line the streets with encouraging signs, cups of water and oranges to hand off to the athletes. People watch for and anticipate the blue lights and sounds of a police car siren that announces the approaching elite runners. After three waves of runners, the sidelines continue to stay packed with people praising, applauding and offering high-fives to every last participant that runs, walks, limps and struggles by to the finish line. The kindness, the happiness, the smiles, laughs, dedication and determination was in the air. As the runners pass they smile, wave, and even thank their cheerleaders. The Boston Marathon is a race for both the runners and spectators. It is amazing how Boston communities come out of the woodwork to cheer on strangers. For the duration of 26.2 miles there are people to cheer on the runners. The spectators are as dedicated as the runners. Someone, somewhere took that joy away April 15, 2013.

But, I have faith. Bostonians and marathoners will be back. I will be back. I vowed that someday, again I would endure the 26.2 miles. I feel I still have one left in me if I dig deep enough. More than ever I am dedicated to making that happen. I will not let evil defeat Boston's tradition. It is part of who we are as a city and who I am as an individual.

My prayers and love go to families, friends, runners, spectators and the city of Boston. Peace!

Smile

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Working my passions...I finally took the financial plunge and dropped a substantial chunk of money on one of my passions. For as long as I can remember I have had a camera and  have loved taking pictures.  I am the annoying one snapping candids and calling to people to “smile”, trying to capture the  perfect picture at a memorable event.  For years I have wanted to take my camera clicking to a new level and get a "real" camera. Finally, after much researching 35mm SLR cameras, I decided to go with the Nikon D3200.

 
I literally know nothing of “real” photography language and its meanings. Speed? Aperture? I have a lot of reading and experimenting to do, and I am looking forward to every minute of it. I also know I will be driving my kids, family, friends and students batty with my new “toy”.

 
In school, I am beginning to implement "The Passion Project" with my students. It is a time designated for the students to learn and engage in what interests them.  We have discussed what drives us, how we learn best, passion, interests, and projects. Students are at the phase of the project where they are determining how they want to spend their time and energy to gain knowledge.  I am participating along side the students during our designated times twice a week to model learning with a passion, persevering through the "boring", or difficult times and demonstrate various learning tools. As the students, I am setting up a plan of how I will spend my time during Passion Project. I have manuals, books to read, a CD to learn from and I am taking an on-line class to guide me in gaining skills. In addition to research, I will practice the art of photography by taking lots of pictures. I will have fabulous subjects right at my finger tips.

 
Of course, I will be spending numerous hours outside of class time to practice my passion, but when life gets in my way, I will have the Passion Project to rely on and further pursue knowledge on picture taking.  My hope is for my students to share the same enthusiasm and desire to learn.

My first two photos with my new Nikon D3200...auto setting.

As I learn and practice I will share new photos.

They Grow So Fast

My first Tuesday Slice of Life Challenge ...I am excited to explore my newest passion, writing, with slicers from Two Writing Teachers.

April showers bring May flowers. It also brings April Fool's Day, the Boston Marathon, April vacation, warmer weather and my son's birthday. In just 3 days he will be double digits, the big 1-0. It 's hard to believe. Time really does fly by when you're having fun, parenting. The day he was born in Guatemala, I was moving into our new home in Massachusetts. Coincidence? I'm not so sure. Each year when celebrating his birthday, we also honor his adoption story. I remember everything from "the phone call", his pictures, the preparing, the waiting and w-a-i-t-i-n-g, the traveling to Guatemala, the very first time he was placed in my arms and his arrival home on Christmas Eve 2003, as if it were yesterday. I share tales from our time in Guatemala; his meeting his buddy Sammy in the lobby of the hotel before he met me, his crying from wearing shoes that were too small, eating eggs for breakfast and squash for dinner from Mimi's plate, driving in Roberto's truck without a car or seat belt to visit Antigua. We love the reminiscing and the making of new memories.

Each year he grows taller, smarter, wiser. He makes me so proud. Proud of his hard work in school, playing the cello and participating in sports, exploring new things, but mostly for being a boy of character. He's kind, caring, thoughtful, helpful, grateful, and responsible. Could I ask for anything more? Everyday I am thankful for being blessed with my amazing son. I love you, Charlie. To infinity and beyond!
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