Atticus Loses His First Tooth

It was cold yesterday, and Atticus's coat was zipped all the way up when I picked up the kids from school.

"I have a surprise for you when I get home," he told me.

"I can't wait to see it," I said, wondering what kind of picture he had hidden away in his book bag.

But then he told me the surprise was hidden under his coat. OK, that's different, but all kids have their whims.

When we got home, Atticus promptly asked if I was ready for the surprise and unzipped his coat. And was I ever surprised -- it was a tiny tooth necklace, with his first lost tooth inside!

The tooth had been loose for a month or so, and very, very loose recently. So the tooth itself wasn't a complete surprise. Him keeping it a secret that long was, though!

He said he noticed it was gone shortly after lunch and found the lost tooth on the floor next to his desk. Good thing his class ate lunch in the classroom instead of the cafeteria today, followed by indoor recess, or that tooth could have been anywhere! Day #2 in the classroom, and his first tooth is already gone.

Kind of the First Day of School, Again

THE KIDS WENT TO SCHOOL YESTERDAY! For the first time ever, both kids are in school for a FULL DAY. And for the first time in 11 months, they had a day of classes in a school building at all.

Of course, it's only two days per week at the moment, but I'll take what I can get in this pandemic season.

Masks were the fashion accessory of the day ... required, that is. And a big snowstorm this weekend meant that outdoor recess was a no-no, but it wasn't a snow day as we had feared.

The kids will be doing asynchronous school work the other three days -- that is, homework without the supervision of a teacher (aside from the unified arts classes of art, gym, music and library, which will be live on Zoom).

So the jury is still out about how the kids will adjust to this new normal. But I'm adjusting fine. I scheduled an interview for yesterday morning for a story I'm writing, and then wrote the story immediately after. I'm not sure I've done that in YEARS. And more articles are already in the pipeline. I could get used to this.

He said he could see ...!

Ohio vs. NY: Pandemic Edition

I've been thinking a lot about New York lately; I'm not sure why. We lived there for six years, and we've already been back in Columbus for 8 years this coming summer. Crazy!

As the kids have grown up, I've had many reasons to be happy that we returned to Ohio. Having our own washer/dryer is practically reason enough! But also the stairs, the subway waits, the stresses that come with apartment living -- all of those would be infinitely more difficult with children, of course.

Coronavirus has brought so many changes to our lives, and I can only imagine the additional stresses of living through it with kids in New York City. Everyone lives on top of each other as it is, and add on a highly contagious illness ... eek.

Overrun playgrounds? No thanks. Crowded sidewalks? Um, no. No museums, no restaurants, no anything that makes New York fun.

It hasn't been a piece of cake here either. I'm pretty that's true of pretty much everywhere. But at least here we have our own house, space to spread out and our own private laundry room. 

But as much as I'm happy that we don't currently live there, I can't wait for this pandemic to pass so we can visit once again.