Birdyhead

The Season Ends and Another Begins

This weekend was Theron's last game of the season and it was bittersweet. The boys played a great game and they all got trophies. It was Theron's very first trophy and his very first team experience. He made friends and learned about teamwork and watching Theron run is always a thing of beauty. His reputation on the team was as one of the two fastest kids. We had a little party at the picnic tables afterwards and chatted with the parents. Ash and I were trying to be careful not to be too rejoiceful over the end because though it has been a sacrifice - for all of us, really, there were times Theron would have preferred to stay home - it has also been so important for him in so many ways. So when one of the mothers said to me, "I'm so glad it's over!" I had to laugh. It's been so all consuming we haven't even had time to think about the next season of holidays. We're really looking forward to a long weekend of not having to go anywhere for the first time since the end of August. We can already feel the difference. Today we took a Sunday drive, did a little shopping, a little walking, and went to the ice cream shop of a friend of a friend called Scoops where Theron traded me his pistachio-rosewater for my goat cheese-basil (which he says is his favorite). Their bacon ice cream is also really delicious.

Theron's second week of 2nd grade - still great! What's not so great is that his afterschool program at the Boy's and Girl's club shut down until December 3 because of lack of funds. This we could not believe - this is a national organization. How could this happen? They gave us less than 24 hours notice to find something else! We left a message at the headquarters and had a message back from the regional coordinator that they were working on fixing things, but we didn't really get any clarification about how this happened and how they will prevent it from happening again. I called the number all day Friday trying to talk to someone but only got the machine, so we're going to keep trying next week. In the meantime I found a rec center in Chinatown that agreed to take him but I am very ambivalent about it. We'd rather he go back to where he was because he knows it, it's close to home, and they provide transportation from school. I want Theron to like this other place enough for a couple of weeks but I really can't drive him over every day. Like it but don't get too comfortable, I say. Or maybe he should love it and never want to leave. Until we know what's going on I don't even know what to hope for.