Last day of elementary school for my oldest. Bittersweet. Excitement and dread. Proud and humble.
Nothing really prepares me for the reality of these milestones, but they come and they come faster than I am ready for. Jude’s ready. He’s nervous, he’s excited, but he’s ready.
Jude is a lot like me in many ways, but I think he’s so much braver than I am. He’s a quiet one and quite an introvert, but he approaches new situations and activities with bravery. Not without fear, but with courage. He participates in things that are outside his comfort zone, things that he might not have a natural talent for, but he’s in there participating and trying and taking part. I think that will take him far.
My Zane. He is so different from me in many ways. He’s a puzzle to me at times and yet he inspires me so much every day. He is passionate, joyful, so very present, he cares little about what others think of him as long as he is doing what he loves. He will talk your ear off. He loves jokes and conversation.
He also loves Eye of the Tiger. He first heard the song on the soundtrack of a video game, and was so excited when we played the original for him. He loves how it makes him feel and he definitely gets the writer’s intent to inspire action. He quickly decided that he wanted to play Eye of the Tiger for Spring Piano Recital and then, of course, he decided he wanted to sing it as well.
Before recital, during Spring Break we went to the Point Defiance Zoo and got to observe some gorgeous tigers. Zane even had a chance to look one in the eye to see what the Eye of the Tiger was really like.
He did a great job at recital despite starting an octave too high. He surprised everyone when he started singing. I love his passion and joy.
He’s also quite the dancer and will dance to most any tune with a beat, but when Eye of the Tiger comes on, all bets are off. It’s bold and strong with lots of karate moves thrown in.
I sure do love this kid. I don’t always understand him, but I don’t have to understand him all the time to know that he’s amazing.
Jude went to Outdoor School at Camp Tamarack which is a 5th grade rite of passage. I got to tag along as a parent chaperone. It was a great experience for Jude and he loved it and said his least favourite part was having to leave. The staff and volunteers do such an amazing job of sharing their love of nature and community with the kids.
I had some free time and was able to do most of the hikes around the camp. The lake is Dark Lake and it was just gorgeous. It was amazing to see the stark beauty of the wildfire damage and the new life coming through. There were some serious Bob Ross moments happening as well!
We’re a karate family. We all do karate together and have done so for a couple of years. We’re not particularly good at it, but we love the art, both the physical and mental aspects. That’s not to say that it’s easy or that we are all super excited for every class, but it’s been good for our family. My boys participated in a tournament last month and I am just so proud when I see these photos of how far they have come. It takes an incredible amount of courage to get up in front of lots of people, judges and other competitors and perform.
