Calvin's birthday is Wednesday, he will be 11-years-old. For the past eleven years he has been knocking on the door to my brain pretty much from 6:00 a.m. (5:00 a.m. when he was a baby) until bedtime. He has a lot going on in his own brain that he needs to share. That can wear down even the strongest of introverts. I know my mom will need a break when that plane touches down.
That's okay. We all need a break sometimes. My mom was always the happiest to see me after summer camp or a stay at my grandparents.
Yesterday Mary spent the day with Maggie. There are two things parents can do when children are not in the house. One of them, is to go through the bags of junk they brought home from school the last day and throw most of it out. Doesn't it feel good, to have the pantry countertop finally cleaned off!!!
Mary got better. Strep comes and goes. Colds linger. I'm fighting a summer cold--hopefully it will pass quickly.
Without Calvin? Mary did a painting camp. Also, Friday I took her to "Color Me Mine," a ceramic painting studio owned by a gal from our church. We had a great time! Two bunnies, two little birds and one giant coffee mug later we were covered from head to toe with paint. I loved it. Someday I will learn to paint for real. Until then I'm content to paint simple trees and flowers and cats.
Also without Calvin the fairies came back. All the little German fairy dolls came out to play. They had elaborate picnics on the floor and traveled in their seldom used car to mysterious destinations. Why do fairies need a car? I don't know. But, it came with a camper and it was very cute.
And she read. Hours on the sofa reading. Not one hour on the computer. For 11 days no one sat at my computer surfing youtube for info about the subways systems of Paris. And engineering videos of the Hong Kong airport runway project.
We practiced piano everyday and did a lot of listening. It's easier to be a good Suzuki parent to one child. I honestly don't know how some of my parents do it with three or more kids. Kudos.
Calvin is going to have to hit the ground running with piano. He plays four pieces in church next Sunday, goes to the MacPhail Suzuki Institute next week and also has a masterclass with Reiko this Friday on his concerto. All seven of the concerto kids will play for her. That means I have to hit the piano starting today as well--to polish those seven accompaniments. He will probably be jet lagged. I can't wait to see the 1179 photos he took.
This is my last morning drinking coffee alone on my porch while Bill and Mary sleep in. Tomorrow I will have the boy back here with me in my brain and at the piano. That's what parents do. Every kid is different, the burdens and joys of every parent are different. I can't wait to hear that little motor mouth! I missed him. I can't wait to hear about the minutia of how elevators and escalators and subways and trains work in Switzerland. But, still, I'm happy for the time alone with one child. Happy to inhabit that corner of my own brain, if only for eleven days.
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