The week before holiday break, I stalked the weather, hoping for a few warm days to go hiking or visit the zoo.  Each day revealed another unseasonably cold day.  I panicked, wondering what to do with Liam.  The three of us were home most of the week.  Anyplace indoors to entertain kids would be insanely busy.  (Not so secret information about me: I have zero patience for crowds.)  I looked into visiting Cape Cod during the week and decided to stay closer to home in Newport.  We were able to rent a room at the Holiday Inn Express at a very reasonable rate.  They had an indoor pool and free breakfast.  We splurged on a room with a jacuzzi, which Liam immediately at to explore.

We headed to Newport early and walked around Thames St, expecting to pretty much have the area to ourselves.  It was surprisingly busy!  After driving around a few minutes, I gave up and paid to park.  We had a nice lunch, walked around, and headed to the hotel for check-in.

We immediately changed and headed to the pool.  Liam was beyond excited to burn off energy.  We swam for over an hour and headed back to the room.  Since Mike and I really cracked down on extra expences and started watching our budget, we stopped ordering food and going out to eat.  That evening, we ordered Dominos for the first time in 2017.  Liam was amazed that we could have pizza delivered right to our hotel room.

Liam has minimum experience in hotels.  We often stay with relatives or go camping.   There were a few features he loved, such as the free soap and notebook.

“Can I keep the notepad?”

“You can.”

“And the pen?”

“Yes, buddy.”

“This is the nicest hotel ever!’

While waiting for dinner, we played Ticket to Ride. We bought it for Liam for Christmas.   It is a rare board game that I don’t mind playing.  Liam and I often play games at our favorite coffee shop; it’s nice to have a fun game at home.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.  This time, we had the pool to ourselves the entire time.  The depth varied from three to four feet, making it better for Liam, who could touch the bottom everywhere.

A few years ago, we stayed at a local Holiday Inn Express while getting through the local floods.  Each morning, Mike and I shared a tray of their cinnamon rolls.  Add some scrambled eggs and sausage, and we didn’t need to eat again until dinner.  We wondered why we worked fifteen hours a day in the basement and didn’t lose a pound.  Then we discovered that the cinnamon rolls have over 600 calories each.  We were eating a day’s worth of calories in the morning!  At the time, it was worth it to have the energy to work all day.  This time, we were much better, each eating only one.

We were able to hit the pool one more time in the morning.  There were two kids Liam’s age there; he was happy to have kids to play with.

This was such a great way to spend a day during a cold vacation!  We didn’t have to deal with crowds and it cost us less than going to dinner and a movie.  I’m so glad we decided to get away locally!

I’m thankful that I decided to share my writing, even though it sometimes makes me nervous to hit the “Publish” button knowing that people will be reading my thoughts.  I once compared sharing writing to trying on bath suiting publicly; all of your flaws are visible for all to see.  However, I’ve received such a positive response, letting me know that maybe I do have something to say or offer to the world

Yesterday, I ran to the mall to return a pair of boots.  Searching for a replacement for my six-year-old riding boots is the epitome of a first-world problem.  I thought I had a pair to fit my calves, only to discover they were far too tall and hit the back of my calves when I walked.  The customer at the register was an older woman, apparently confused about the sale flyer and asking numerous questions about items throughout the store.  I was slightly annoyed because I paying for Liam’s afterschool care and waiting for ten minutes to return the boots.  While the lady behind me sighed loudly due to the wait, the cashier happily answered all of the questions.  At this moment, my attitude changed.  Instead of being annoyed at the delay, I was pleased to see a woman with so much patience helping someone purchase Christmas gifts.  After (finally) making my return, I found a manager to report the heartwarming account of exceptional customer service.

I love Liam’s second-grade teacher! She is the perfect mixture of kind and strict.  She had Liam redo his homework because he put it in his backpack instead of his folder.  When he added his lunchbox and hat, it crumbled and ripped his paper.  He came home grumbling that he already did it and it wasn’t fair.  It led to a short conversation about responsibility and taking pride in his work.  I love that, in addition to academics, she is teaching him essential life skills.  She is reinforcing life skills that will make school easier for Liam as he gets older.   Words cannot describe how happy I am that she is his second-grade teacher!

My school loops students through the grades.  Because of this arrangement, I am able to teach my students throughout their high school years.  We develop relationships and don’t have to spend the first half of year trying figuring each other out.  I know how they work and what makes them successful. After three years of using the Summit Learning Platform, everything seems to really click.  They’re growing and becoming self-directed learners.  They’re flourishing during Socratic Seminars.  When we first held Socratic Seminars, they were awkward, with students simply asking and answering prepared questions.  Now, they’re using I Am Malala as a starting point for engaging conversations, such as whether the United States should be invading other countries, even in the name of stopping the Taliban.  While discussing the inequalities of women in Pakistan, students connected the book to the wage gap, Harvey Weinstein, and the sexual abuse scandals currently in the news.  I love that my students demonstrate the ability to think critically, not just regurgitate facts.

Harvest Kitchen Corner Store and Cafe opened next to my school.  They sell a variety of locally made foods, including the best applesauce you’ll ever eat!  During the summer, my husband requests trips to our local farmer’s market just to stock up on the sauce.  The program provides job-training to youths involved in the Juvenile Corrections Services.  The products are a delicious way to support the local community.  I was able to pick up a few stocking stuffers and great a cup of mint tea on a chilly Friday morning.

Liam often dances in the kitchen.  Our Echo is there, so he asks it to play music and “rocks out!”  He was dancing to Imagine Dragons when it became quiet.  Any mother knows that silence is not always golden.  When I checked on him, he was sitting on the kitchen floor with his notebook in his lap.  He told me he was writing a story.  Liam has so much of Mike in him; it made me happy to see a little bit of me shine through!

(The kitchen floor is old.  Believe me when I tell you it is clean, just worn!)

John Green wrote this line to describe how a character falls asleep.  It came to my mind yesterday while watching Liam.  He seemed to grow a few years in the course of a day.

We saw our first snow this weekend.  Getting Liam ready to play in the snow is usually a huge pain the neck.  Yesterday, he got himself dressed completely on his own.  He needed help with his boots, which he managed to outgrow in record time.  He was able to borrow a pair of mine.  Once we were outside, he began helping us shovel rather than playing. Watching his clear the driveway, it seemed like just yesterday that he was barely able to make his way over the pavement while he tried to clear off his Cozy Coupe.

It was a big day for Liam because he finally moved out of his five-point booster.  He made it to almost eight before he moved to a booster that uses the car’s seatbelt.  I am fanatical about car seats; Liam has always been in the safest car seat we can afford.  He stayed in his five-point booster longer than most of his friends, a source of much whining in our car.  He was very happy to make the transition out of his “baby seat.”

While Mike watched the Eagles game, Liam and I wrapped gifts.  While I was asking him to write out his gift tags, he also insisted on wrapping his own gifts, refusing to even let me hold down edges of wrapping paper.

Every day, I watch Liam grow a little bit.  He asked me if we can listen to the “news” in the car. (Yup, my seven-year-old prefers NPR.) He starts conversations asking to discuss preferences of Elvis over the Beatles.  “Elvis is the king for a reason.”  Yesterday, he asked why people need to pay a lot of money for medicine.  “Why should we have to pay for Tylenol?  Does the government want people to die?  Isn’t it easier to just give people Tylenol when they are in pain? What about kids who are sick?  What if their parents can’t afford medicine?  You always tell me I am lucky because we have the money for the things we need.  What about the kids whose parents don’t have money?”  (“Dude, you just perfectly summed up one of the biggest debates in American politics right now.”)  I know he is constantly evolving, but yesterday hit me in all the feels.  He is turning into a young man.  My baby is still in there, but gets deeper and deeper down.  As I tucked him in last night, he wore his Ninja Turtle PJs, hugged his beloved stuffed bunny, and gave me nose rub kisses, I was happy that glimpses of the little boy remain.  I can’t wait to see the man this boy grows up to be.