Last days

The Stenfeld-Dunn family is officially on summer vacation! Well, I'm half way there. I'll be working until July and then I have a glorious month off with no responsibilities.

For the first time in 8 years, Aleks isn't teaching a summer course and we're all looking forward to a slower pace. There have already been lots of trips to the gym, composing, and reading already happening.

My first born finished her year off strong, getting the most AR points in her class. Which means that she read a lot of books and answered a lot of questions correctly about those books. Apparently, she's also doing math at a third grade level, which shows an immense amount of improvement as she started off the year considerably lacking in math skills.

Along with improving her reading and math skills, Maia also took great strides in demonstrating perseverance and discipline. And, if I'm being honest, I care more about those character qualities than AR points.

Mrs. Camacho decided to retire this year after a long teaching career. I'm sure some of Maia's classmates helped make that decision.

We emptied out Maia's backpack and found all of this. Someone somewhere has really instilled in her the importance of reusing broken materials. 

The end of school always catches me off guard with its finality. Those last weeks of school we're pushing to get it all done, deep in the routine of the year and then, wham! it's all over. It's such a defined, tangible event that points out the growth my kids have experienced. Which is wonderful, but also involves a sense of loss.

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Ruby has had a wonderful year. I've seen exponential growth in her ability to control impulses and in emotional maturity. She's always been a very determined child and this year Ruby was able to channel some of that focus into school work. She particularly enjoyed completing work job cards and would proudly tell me about her progress each day.

It was especially difficult this year to say goodbye to Ruby's teacher. This woman is an angel on earth. She is a huge cheerleader for all the kids in her class, celebrating who they are and the accomplishments they experience. Her humor, patience, and wisdom have helped Ruby, and all her classmates, thrive. Teachers like Mrs. Burcham are the ones for whom monuments should be built.

About half of the kids in Ruby's class are staying at Collegiate for kindergarten and the other half are moving to other schools in the area. It's sad to see this group going different ways after being together for the last two years. They are especially bright and fun.

For me, one of the special things about Collegiate are the hallways, where the moms and dads wait to drop off or pick up. It's there that we share parenting joys and struggles, support each other through devastating circumstances, laugh about funny incidents, become friends. I'll miss these women and the privilege of checking in with them each day.

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I also experienced a last day at WSU. The semester has been over for a few weeks, but I've been slowly emptying my office having been asked to be out by the end of May.

Out of the 3 different offices I've had at WSU this one, by far, was the best. The gigantic piano was hard to control at times, but by the end of this year we had begun to get along. In the future I'm excited to visit the school as a guest, free of the baggage that had begun to weigh me down.

The last day of anything always means its the first day of something else. Here we go!

Piano Recital

On Saturday Maia participated in her first piano recital! Well, technically, her first recital in a studio other than mine. She played three songs, two of which were from memory. We kind of relaxed a bit on the practicing until three days before the recital when, in a panic, I realized that it was only a few short days away.

Sometimes I get so fixated on details that I forget about the big picture. There were a couple of pauses and restarts during Maia's practicing and I was resigned to the idea that it wasn't going to be a stellar musical performance.

But, girlfriend pulled it off! I was impressed with her professionalism and musicality. She skipped an entire intro to one song and repeated a section 3 times instead of 2, but no one had a clue. She didn't miss a beat and had the cutest little smirk on her face. You can't teach those kind of skills.

(When I talked with her about it afterward, she insisted that she had played it correctly until I showed her the video. So maybe that's the trick: when you don't know you're wrong, it doesn't get in the way of a solid performance!)

I certainly would not wish a performing career on either of my kiddos and am far from expecting either of them to be piano prodigies. I'm just happy that Maia and Ruby are exercising their brains in this way and hopefully gaining confidence as young women by accomplishing the goals set before them.

I think they're just in it for the ice cream.

Weekend tidbits

Maia came home for the weekend and said “Monday’s agenda: Are Will and Isabella In Love?”

Between dance recitals, church, and showers, the weekend was spent practicing backbends, round-offs, and handstands in preparation for the impending spy operation.

Here are the facts so far:

1. Will and Isabella talk a lot

2. Will and Isabella walk around together

3. Will and Isabella sit on the buddy bench at recess and talk

4. Will and Isabella laugh at the same time

Number four, in particular, makes me smile. Maia thinks they are talking about romance things. I wanted to know how a first grader defines romance, but all Maia said was, “you know, love romance.”

“Are you in love with anyone? “ I inquired.

“Yes, Ethan. But we’re lucky, people just think we’re best friends, but we’re really in love.” And then she kissed her index finger and placed it on my lips.

"You haven’t done that to Ethan have you?"

A slow smile…”Not yet!”

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This weekend the girls were in their first dance recital. There were two dress rehearsals and four shows. It’s a lot for any little girl to handle, but especially challenging for my early-to-bed kiddos who finally crawled into bed at 9:30 Friday and Saturday. I must say how proud I am of the way they have handled it all. Ruby especially rose to the occasion and showed me how mature she's becoming by throwing ZERO tantrums.

For the two and a half minutes your kid is onstage, time stops and your heart swells so much that it pushes a little water out your eyes as you see those tangible parts of your heart dressed in the sweetest tutus with hair and makeup looking poised, confident, and oh so beautiful. It's one of those cliche mothering moments that you hear about, but comes as a complete surprise when it happens to you.

Listen, I'm going to be real honest right now. The other hour and eighteen minutes your kids aren't on the stage? Those are pretty brutal. But all those kids are someone else's heart and soul and that has to be honored, so you sit there and clap enthusiastically after each number even though the chairs are uncomfortable and you can't really see the stage anyway because of the head attached to the person sitting in front of you.

For the kids, the main event isn't really being on stage, but all the waiting that happens in the dressing room. There are non-school friends to talk with, iPad games to play, movies to watch, and rainbow looming to do.

One other special thing I got to experience this weekend was giving my girls flowers for the first time. I had no idea how much they would love getting a rose. I should have given one to my husband who split all the dance recital weekend duties with me 50/50. If I can just teach him how to do buns and eyeshadow, I'll let him take over!

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This weekend was so busy for us all that it was all I could do to get from event to the next, making sure that I had all my music/earrings/gown/programs/etc with me. In retrospect, I'm glad to have been preoccupied with details as this weekend marked the last recital with my WSU students and performances with WSU colleagues.

I have lots of feelings about ending this part of my life right now and I'm not sure I've got the energy or perspective to write about them just yet.

I will say that I've been at peace ever since deciding to leave. And, especially this weekend, I have been overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for the people whom I've come to know and love because of this job. My students are so uniquely special and wonderful. They have taught me and helped me to become a better person. I will miss that aspect of the work. I also have some really kind, generous colleagues. It's been a privilege to work and make music with many of them.

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I just tore down April from the wall calendar and filled in May. The boxes become less and less full as the month progresses. The next season is on its way.