local local, love

this week we attended two evening school events. free, fun.

one was a visit from local author and illustrator ashley wolff, who came and illustrated a book that the kids "wrote" by yelling out crazy comments from the floor in front of the stage where she stood with a big pad of paper and super speedy drawing powers.

another was a visit from aiko cuneo, in conjunction with scrap (the scroungers center for reusable art parts). the kids went crazy and made unique and very wearable hats. they got to use glue guns and some kids got very creative.

thanks to the parents who organized these great events. we are lucky to have our kids' elementary school as a resource in the neighborhood long after the school day has ended.

and parent conferences were not too awful. after just a few months maya's teacher amazingly sees all the talents and subtle challenges i see in my kid. it feels nice to have your kid understood.

today maya said we were lucky that we can walk to a bookstore (there is a new branch of the dogeared books empire opening on 24th street). we started to make a list of things we could walk to:

dance class

school

st francis ice cream parlor

the bookstore

the library

the water park

the donut store

a's house

g's house

the skate park

the bakery

m's house

the garage sale

walgreen's

million fishes art gallery

the rice and beans restaurant (aka casa sanchez)

and in an emergency...the hospital

i just have to say that i had such a nice day with my two children i started to feel sad thinking about them growing up and leaving me. just walking around the neighborhood, and then attending an ice cream social birthday party at st. francis (no wonder they were so nice,they were fully sugared up), watching them play with their friends. then holding hands walking home in the dark past some very far gone men, hipsters smiling at us on their dates, passing toddlers reaching for our party balloon, an ambulance speeding by, the horrible window displays at walgreens and then home-- i felt so in love with my offspring. sorry if that sounds strange, and they both returned the feeling, maya with her many mommy i love yous, and miles with a request for cozy time. he read his book smushed next to me in maya's bunk, then climbed into his own, and said a now rarer "love you", too.

enjoy it while you can.