Started 4th Grade

I know it sounds weird, but yes – 4th grade. Well maybe not weird to you. But it seems so old. I think about myself in 4th grade – Franks/Fix. Those are the names of my teachers. They did a weird combined class that year so there were 60 of us in the same class. The first day of class I walked in and my girlfriend at the time Felicia Kondrat (yep, had a girlfriend), yelled out to me with a number of other girls to come sit with them. I started crying and ran out of class. This is actually a real story. My mom came to school and let me come home with her.

You were much better. You have friends that you have had for years and have acclimated quite well. Your teacher is Mrs. Schneider, and your best friend is Cora, her daughter. You see Cora every morning and you guys hug. It’s not just cute, but comforting to know that you have such a good friend.

You started only like a month ago so we will see how things go – but so far so good. You still love school and are a terrific student, always doing your homework even if you struggle with it.

Airstream Camping & Fishing

We actually did quite a bit of camping this summer in the Airstream, although not as much as we would have liked. We spent time at both North Fork and Wood River campgrounds north of Ketchum. We also went to Alturas lake with your friend Avery and their family.

We also took it to McCall for Memorial Day, and as you can see you caught some fish! Not only did you cast it, reel it in, get it off the hook – but most impressively, you cleaned it! You and I always had a deal about keeping fish, that if you wanted to keep and eat them then you had to clean them. This time around, you did it and we ate it for dinner. You are becoming a little mountain girl.

We are heading out one more time this season before we put the Airstream (Bernadette, or Bernie) for the season, but I can’t wait to make more memories with you next year and many years after camping in it.

Competitive Soccer

You started competitive soccer this year, as in you had to try out and get placed. You just kicked (pun intended) off the season and so far love it. You are playing with many of your friends that go to St. Joes. We are very early on with it, but so far you seem to love it.

Goro

You have a stuffed animal named Goro. Something tells me that when you read this you will still have him as you are inseparable. He sleeps with you every night and go with you most places. It’s a weird little monkey thing that Ethan actually bought for you as a gift. Fortunately we have not forgotten him yet, but just waiting for the night when we are away from home and didn’t remember him as it will be a rough one.

In the same vein, you guys have easily over 100 “stuffies” as you call them. You have named every single one of them and you play pretend with them all the time. It is one of the favorite activities of both you and your brother, and you do it together nearly every day.

Day-to-day

You definitely have some anxiety, but it is mild for now. Your mom has struggled with anxiety for most of her life so it’s not surprising that you have it as well. It normally comes out when you meet new people, we are doing something for the first time, when you are away from us for too long, or when mom’s anxiety kicks in and scares you (driving, for example). It’s not debilitating by any means, but it is something we are monitoring closely. We are looking for you to talk to a therapist to see if that helps. Your mom has never (at least until now) properly addressed her anxiety so my hope is that it will help her do it as well.

The anxiety, or so we think, has also lead to ticks. You have a number of ticks that have developed and new ones come up now and then. This takes the form of rolling your eyes up into your head, little coughing, little sniffles, blinking, grinding teeth, etc. This one I hate to say you got from me. I had ticks growing up but were a little different in that my main one was blinking. I noticeably blinked a lot (still do sometimes) and it was normally triggered when I was nervous or anxious. I also did (and still do) a lot of counting in my head, which I learned later on is symptom of autism. I have not been diagnosed autistic by any stretch, but a lot of my ticks were in my head and didn’t show on the outside. I don’t know if you count, but I think you might. You tell us that you can’t control the ticks and that you “have” to do them. I have been open with you about me having had them as a child and have shared some tips that helped me control them.

You have also started to push back a bit, specifically with your mom. It has begun! You guys fight about your hair the most, when she wants to style it or cut it. I am learning how to mediate as I obviously get caught in the middle, especially when I agree with you (which is a lot of the time) and being able to help you two to a resolution. You are a total daddy’s girl which also makes it harder for your mom – but I wouldn’t change it.

You are still incredibly sweet, loving, well-behaved and smart. You find so much joy in things, and your best friend is easily your brother. As you can see from the photos below you do most everything together. You guys have your fights, but for the most part play incredibly well. You are both very imaginative and will come up with completely made up games and narratives within those games, then play them out for hours.

We are so lucky to have you. You are an incredibly special child, and I can’t wait to talk to you again when you turn double digits.

I love you more than all the world.

Love, Dad