Month 59, Version 2.0

Month 59, Version 2.0

Dear Miles,

You’ve been in school now for a few weeks and the schedule has been challenging. Your sister and the rest of the neighborhood start school at 8:20am and your class, developmental kindergarten, doesn’t start until 9:00am. You insist on leaving at 8:00am to walk with the rest of the neighborhood which means we sit and wait for nearly forty minutes before it’s time for you to go in. We try various things to persuade you to stay home but you are insistent that  you “walk with my boys.” So we walk and we wait and wait some more. It will be a challenging year if we don’t figure out some sort of schedule soon.

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First day of school, DKA
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First day of school, DKA
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Waiting
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Still waiting
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Waiting is for winners or at least that’s what I tell myself

You were very nervous at the beginning of the school year and it was very clear during orientation. Your teachers allowed you and the rest of the class to come a day early to get acclimated to your new school setting. You were very excited to see your new classroom but once we arrived, you suddenly realized that every face in your class was a new face. We live in a very diverse neighborhood and you are indeed the minority in your class. Never have we been in a position like this before so there was some uncertainty as to how you would be accepted amongst your peers. Alliances in the class quickly formed and you were a spectator that first week. Every day I would ask you how your day went and very glumly you would reply that it was fine. I was very nervous for you until I remembered you’re Mr. Party and it was just a matter of time before you turned on the charm.

One morning as we’re waiting for class to begin, two of your classmates arrive and begin having running races in the play area where we wait. For a few minutes we watched these two boys sprint back and forth in front of us. You lean over to me and very quietly say, “I wore my fast shoes today.” I smiled at you and without having to say anything, you got up off the bench and very quietly walked over to the two boys. I don’t remember an exchange of words but the next thing I know, you’re racing against both of them and smoking them to boot. The other boys smelled a challenge and accepted. For the next thirty minutes, I watched just about every boy in your class attempt to outrun you and you with the smug smile and short stature, announced to everyone that you couldn’t be beat because you were wearing the fast shoes. Something very animalistic happened that morning–something very pack leader-esque because now every morning when you arrive at school, your classmates scream and shout your arrival. EVERYONE, MILES IS HERE!!!! 

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Morning races to establish dominance

You’re drunk with power now because when we arrive at school, sometimes you entertain the others with your presence and other times you’re an ass. You’ll walk in and everyone will be screaming your name and very nonchalantly you’ll say that you need a few moments of quiet before you can play. I watched one morning as this played out and you sat yourself on the bench as every other kid walked up to you and asked if they could play with you and without even looking at them said, “not now.” One boy refused to leave and you refused to engage with him so I watched as he proceeded to play patty-cake with your shoes. Another afternoon as we were walking home, I witnessed you say goodbye to a group of four or so girls from your class who were lined up preparing to go to the after-school program. They were lined up, not paying attention to anything in particular and with your boisterous voice yelled goodbye. I watched as all the girls looked up and bashfully smiled and waved back. You are Mr. Party and I’m completely confident that you will be just fine this school year.

It certainly has been difficult for you transitioning from the carefree summer schedule to a more restricted school schedule. You’re very confused as to why you can’t play outside with the neighborhood kids immediately after school or why you can’t play outside when it’s already dark after dinner. This has been a great source of conflict between us lately and I’m afraid to tell you it will only get worse as the nights get longer. I suppose I should just be happy that you want to play outside all the time but the kids have homework and the older they get, the more responsibilities they have. You’re the youngest and unfortunately for you, will always be playing catch-up. So, we play a lot together and I’m ok with that because I know you won’t be wanting to play with your Momma forever.

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Admittedly, we have a pretty awesome neighborhood
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Sometimes playtime with you turns strange

Summer is officially over and the final thing we had to do to complete our Summer of Awesome bucket list was take a trip to the roller skating rink. Golden Skate is the same skating rink I went to as a kid and I can confidently say that it looks exactly the same. They even play the same games! They offer skating buddies for new skaters which are basically PVC pipe walkers with wheels that you push around the rink. You picked up on the concept quickly and immediately started racing around the rink, giving your struggling sister another reason to dislike you. I’m sure she punched you later that day out of frustration.

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Master of the skating buddy
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They just don’t make carpet like that anymore

I was feeling rather reminiscent after being at the skating rink so once we returned home, I pulled out the ol’ Nintendo game system and showed you and Olivia how to effectively blow into the games to make them work. Surprisingly, the original console still works! Nothing warms my heart more than introducing my children to toys that brought me so much joy as a kid. I’m a pain in the ass though because along with the joy, you must also experience the pain so I refuse to let you play Super Mario Bros 2 & 3 until you complete the first game. That’s right, you will gain an appreciation for the Super Mario Bros and you will understand the pain that is getting to level six and dying when you overestimate a jump and fall right into a pit of pixelated lava. It’s really where I learned all my choice words that provide so much relief these days. You will understand why we scream, SHIT and FUCK NO! You’ll see, it’s all because of Nintendo.

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Super Mario Bros requires a comfortable floor pillow
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Shooting ducks is so much fun when you’re holding that fine piece of plastic
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World Track Meet Victory

The start of the school year hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions but we’ll figure out the schedule and hopefully now that you’re big man in DKA, you’ll be more excited to get up early and return every day. You make friends very easily and I really need to stop worrying about you in that area of your life. You’re very charismatic which makes no sense given how evil you were to me up until this point. I really get a kick out of people telling me how lovely you are when I have fond memories of you being a complete asshole in the middle of Target. Ah, yes, my sweet charismatic Miles. You are adorable. Just a warning, I dish out revenge in many other forms so don’t make yourself too comfortable.

Love,

Momma

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