Random observations on a Friday, the last day of middle school, the last day of third grade:
I’ve got lots to say about how gorgeously held my middle guy was (second of four, but so much the MIDDLE ONE) during middle school. Picture, thousand words, what what; this was taken during the graduation ceremony.
The little girl’s oldest friend came over so her parents could go to a fundraiser (for the inimitable CISA; our middle one and his papa went as well). Apparently, before coming over, Arella worried for one moment: “Sometimes, things don’t go well,” she informed her parents. Not a moment later, she asked, “Can I stay there for dinner?”
We’d told them when they were respectively newborn and just-turned-one that they’d be best friends, but “no pressure.” Fortunately, for the most part things go well between them.
I didn’t take my camera out yesterday afternoon when I ended up with a trio of outgoing third grade boys here, but I did come to the very important mathematical conclusion that three third grade boys represent total fun. I prefer three, although I am not longing for triplets, don’t get me wrong.
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One of the words that got our charter school its charter is community. It’s a word the wonderful Treehouse Foundation uses to describe its flagship project, a multi-generational community that supports families with kids coming from foster care into forever families.
A friend was skeptical the other day when I told him I think of that line—it takes a village to raise a child—every single day. For me, the village may be the three boys I get on a Thursday afternoon and the lovely little sister (and getting to know her spectacular K-1 classroom teacher, one every-other-Thursday pick-up at a time) or the copies a friend printed for the eighth grade cheese project tri-fold at the eleventh hour. At Treehouse, it’s people like Rosa Young, who moved 1000 miles to become an elder there and whose sense of dedication and purpose and joy is one of the most evident, palpable and inspiring things you will ever witness. I’m privileged to have worked with her at Treehouse. I’m so glad her work was recognized; she just won the Myra Kraft MVP Award (read about this here). The village cannot be underrated.
