Anniversary

Dear Jack,

I would say stop me if you've heard this story, but you know how I love to tell it....

In 1998, my senior year, I started hanging out with a group of guys from my service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. The trouble was that every weekend, they would just... disappear. I would try to make plans with several of them, just group things really, and every one would give me the same answer, "Sorry. I can't. Jeremy's coming up this weekend."

Jeremy?

Who is this guy that not one, but five other guys were rearranging their weekends for and what in the world were they doing?

It turned out that they were playing a game called Dungeons and Dragons; a game which requires one person to tell a story that they others will respond to and create a game out of.

It takes a special person to run a game like that and this Jeremy was that person.

One weekend later, I was part of the game and within a month, your dad asked me out... via instant messenger on the computer.

We spent the next almost five years of our dating relationship playing D&D off and on, more on than off.

So when our 8th wedding anniversary was approaching and your dad asked me what I wanted, this is what I told him.

I wanted to revisit our old dating days.

I know, romantic man that he is these days, he was trying to remember what restaurant we went to on our first date.

No, I said, I want to play D&D. Will you run a game for me?

So for our anniversary, your dad invited four guys over and once again I was the only woman around the table as we played.

I love that game, and I love that your dad still knows how to tell a good story. It's what attracted me to him in the first place and I know that my enjoyment of a game that mostly dudes play is a key component in his initial attraction to me. And that's what I really wanted for our anniversary... a little reminder of that spark for us both.

Love,
Mom

Splash Pool

Dear Jack,

Today we went to the Splash Pool. You and your sister spent over and hour playing in the water, having a blast.

There is an island in the middle and you can stand all the way to and from the island. Because both you and I knew you could stand, I was able to let you swim freely and stand back and try to capture the magic that is you in the water.

I love watching you swim. I imagine that by next summer, the mystery of how to come up for a breath will be revealed to you and you will be back and forth across any pool, happy as can be.

But still, as we were there, a group of ladies were there, presumably with their older children, holding their newborns, two in arms, one in a Baby Bjorn. It reminded me of that first summer, two years ago, when you were the baby in the water sling, sleeping at the Splash Pool.

I guess I should have known by the way the sounds of splashing water lulled you to sleep that you would take to the water.

Love,
Mom

Fun Friday: Arts and Crafts Day

Dear Jack,

Friday was Arts and Crafts day. We invited a couple of my friends from school and their sons. It was nice to have new friends over. My friend Rebecca and I kept laughing, though, because you and her son, Ryan, kept gravitating to things other than arts and crafts. On the one hand, the real goal was to have a fun day and you guys were having a lot of fun together, on the other hand, it was "Arts and Crafts Day" and I wanted to do some arts and crafts.

Happily, once the glue and paint came out, you guys were convinced to sit and participate, at least for a while.

I was very impressed with how well you managed the glue in particular. In the past, I have placed the dots of glue for you and let you put the items on the dots. This time, I let you handle the glue bottle all on your own and you did an excellent job of putting small dots of glue well spaced on your project.

You and Ryan both preferred the paint, though, to any other of the arts of crafts activities that you got to do during our play date.

After our friends left, you took a nap and magically, when your nap was over, there was a castle in our playroom. (Well, not so magically if you knew how hard your sister and I had worked while you slept.)

I made many figurines from wooden peg people and you loved them all, though the knights with their swords and spears are by far your favorites.

Your sister and I both kept on you about playing with the castle. It was cute to hear Sydney tell you, "Jack! Be careful. Mom and I put a lot into that!" It's true.

But really, for a two year old, you are amazingly careful with our crafty castle.

I keep thinking, though, if this is what your sister and I can create this summer while you nap, what will we be able to come up with in a year or two when you are old enough to actually help us and not just play with the finished result?

I can't wait.

Love,
Mom

Museum Thursday: The Wesleyan

Dear Jack,

I really did have a different plan for today. I was going to take you and your sister to the German Texas Heritage Museum. They have lunch around noon where everyone speaks German and then they open up the museum for tours at one. That would put us back at the house around two thirty or three for your nap which you would need to be up from around three thirty for our swim lessons.

I actually did something similar with you on Tuesday when we went to see the movie at 12:30 and having done it once this week, I vowed, "never again." So, ix-nay on the German useum-may.

A lot of smaller museums seem to keep these one to four sorts of hours, actually. So I had to be creative.

Do you think it's reasonable to call a nursing home a "living museum"?

What if you bring a clip board and your big sister takes a very official poll about whether the resident's favorite childhood toys were homemade, store-bought, or from Santa?

I know. I know. It's a stretch.

But I had a good time.

Love,
Mom

The Movie Experience

Dear Jack,

Technically you have already seen your first theater movie. It was Tangled and while I am doing everything I can to help you grow into the type of boy who doesn't care that his first movie was a "girl" movie, I am also fairly sure, given your love of cars and trucks and things that go, that Cars 2 will be more memorable for you.

You did enjoy the movie quite a bit. We went with the Shelby's and you and Jaxon both liked the popcorn and the drinks. You both liked the way the seat popped up and down. You liked the first five to ten minutes of the movie and then, your attention span exhausted, you liked running up and down the side aisle.

To be fair, the movie recaptured your attention several times, but the story line was too complex even for your sister, and you are only two. I think when you are older, though, you are going to love this movie and be glad we saw it in the theaters.

I remember when your cousin (well, your second cousin) Myles was your age. Toy Story 2 had just come out and he was Woody. His mom even took him to get studio portraits in his Woody costume. I know your buddy Andrew loves Lightning McQueen. The first Cars movie came out the year he was born. My philosophy has always been toward less commercialization. I don't dress you and your sister in cartoon character shirts. Your rooms have interesting colors and patterns, not merchandise. But in all of that, which I still agree is a better way, I want to remember the trends around you when you were little. Sleeping Beauty, or Belle, or Ariel may be your sister's favorite princesses, but Rapunzel will always be the one that came out when your sister was starting her "princess" phase.

I don't know if you are going to identify with the cars from Cars 2 or not. But I know a lot of your peers will. So I took you to the movie with one of your peers.

And it's okay that you and he ran up and down the isles. It's okay that he had to leave early. It's even okay that you poured sprite all over me.

It was the experience I wanted to give you. Because either this movie or one of the next few you see will be the first one you remember as the movie of your childhood. And I was there, all sticky with sprite, being fed cold popcorn, watching it with you.

Love,
Mom

Back to Peter's Pool

Dear Jack,

Monday we went back to Peter's pool, this time with Mrs. Shelby as well as Mrs. Hazen.

Mrs. Shelby's son is named Jaxon and I think it was a little confusing for the two of you to keep hearing your name (or at least part of your name) applied to another boy.

You had a lot of fun in the water, though. Your grandma had bought you a star shaped floaty and you spent pretty much the entire morning floating around in it. You hooked your elbows around two of the points of the star, and would occasionally even rest your head on another.

And once again, Mrs. Hazen brought snacks. I think you are getting spoiled, though. While we were there, Mrs. Shelby was asking about The Last Day of Summer and one of the things she needed to know, should she join us, was what kind of snacks you like.

That's right. You've got yet another mama bringing you snacks now.

Love,
Mom

Birthday Art

Dear Jack,

This is your mama's art work, done especially for my 34th birthday.

This is you, working on some art work the day before.

I love that we can both create "art." I also love that both pieces are currently up on the wall in my bedroom.

Love,
Mom