This post will be a bit of a jumble and a ramble, I'm sure, but I will try to be loyal to my thoughts and observations of the past few weeks.
Baby Joe is now three months old, and more in tune with himself and the world than we could possibly have imagined. He has a beautiful, innocent smile, and Sunniva made him laugh for the first time about ten days ago, they already genuinely enjoy each other's company. Sunniva will be finished with her second year of barnehage tomorrow, and she's grown so much this year - physically and emotionally - that we sometimes have to remind ourselves she's not 5 or 6.
The past few weeks have been particularly hectic for me, as my team of teachers and I had to ensure our students' safe passage through written and oral exams, as well as graduation. Two of my 10th grade girls moved me to tears with their presentations about the meaning and power of literature. At our graduation, I gave my final speech to students and parents in English, off the cuff and from the heart, and played Sunny Side on my EVF banjo as a final celebration and word of (indirect) advice.
Following a class for three years - something I may never do again - has been an extraordinary privilege, but it has also been more taxing than is healthy (not just for me). More than anything, I've learned that the battles we fight on a daily basis to teach (the same) students how to speak and behave properly, how to show each other respect, are always Sisiphyian battles because these lessons are not imparted strongly enough in the home. I'm not blaming all parents for students who act up once in a while, but our most difficult cases are the ones that are irreparably broken by the time they get to us. Accepting how little we can do (there is progress) while still allowing these students space in the classroom - when they make others' space so unsafe, seems grossly unfair, but the alternative is to send them off to kill lions like young Masai men...
Perhaps not so dramatically as Daenarys Stormborn emerging from the fire to become Mother of Dragons, I feel that these last months have tested close to my limit, but I have managed - with support from colleagues, family and friends - to pass the test and come out the other side, hopefully wiser and stronger, into my reward: more responsibility and leadership in my new position as administrator.
And therefore, a whole weekend of celebrating with colleagues was a necessary catharsis (made possible by Mormor being here to help Anette, Supermom) and then a simultaneous hike on Monday with PNut in Colorado kept the weekend going in grand fashion.
At his suggestion, he woke up around 5am and drove 20 min to North Table State Park, which has a modest peak with a commanding view of Denver and the surrounding Rockies. I bounded out the door of work at 1pm my time to get into the Konnerud woods and start our adventure. I sent lupines, magpies, pine forest and me doing push-ups (Fab4!) and he sent me yucca in bloom, Indian Paintbrush, mule deer and jackrabbits. We even managed to video chat via Snap, and to keep the humor going with pix of wet sandals and dead birds. The sky opened up as I signed off, and I ran down the mountain in my sandals, recalling summers as a young teen at Kingswood, flying, and the freedom of all-night seances in Boston and poetry-inspiring walks in the rain; rejoicing in the newfound strength of my body, which at 36 is well on the way to softness but which I am trying to maintain (for fatherhood and family life) by swimming these past two years.
And so the summer begins. The Saums and Kloses are on a new simultaneous journey, also on Snap, this time long road trips with bison, coyote, caterpillars, wildflowers, and plenty of silliness. Good to recapture not just the physical wellbeing of 20 years ago, but also the carefree spirit of fun and adventure - Lord knows school and the responsibilities of adult life can crease the brow a bit too often at times.
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