The Little Moments

Dear Sawyer,

Being a mom (and especially a mom to four!) is so hard sometimes but the little moments that warm my heart are so worth it. I had two with you today:

- Last spring, I gave you money to buy a book at your school's book fair. You (unsurprisingly) bought a dinosaur book and it meant a lot to you because a) dinosaurs but also b) it was the first book you had picked out and paid for yourself without your parents around. You asked me to read it to you every day for awhile but it somehow got lost in one of our closets. I found it today and gave it back to you. It had probably been months since you'd last seen it so when you got it back today, you were SO happy! You clutched it in your hands, stared excitedly at the cover and ran up the stairs to read it in your room exclaiming "OMGOMGOMG!" the whole way. I love how excited you get about dinosaurs and I felt so happy seeing you so happy.

- Before Covid, you spent a lot of time with PoiPoi, either playing with her at her apartment or going to the playground together. Covid obviously halted those activities and PoiPoi is so nervous about the virus that she won't even enter our house. However, she did finally feel comfortable enough to spend time with you outdoors and agreed to take you to the park today. I went out to the sidewalk to watch you two walk away and hearing you chatting with PoiPoi and seeing your small frame next to her taller one after almost seven months of not seeing you two close together was such a welcome sight.

Love,

Mom

Strange School Days

Dear Sawyer,

Back-to-school time usually consists of several mainstays: getting new backpacks, meeting new teachers and classmates, feeling excited as you enter the school building after a eight weeks of summer. But sadly, we have none of that this year. You, GuhGaw and JieJie will be attending fully remote school this year which means that your new kindergarten classroom is also . . . your bedroom. Daddy built a desk for you and you now have your very own laptop! This year, you won't need a new backpack because you won't need to carry any supplies anywhere, you will "meet" your teachers and classmates via Google Meets and you are attending a new school this year but you won't be stepping foot in the actual building. I know it's weird and not at all what you or I envisioned for your big entry into elementary school but I hope you will still have a fun, educational and memorable (in a good way) year.

You have had a handful of Google Meet calls with your new class already and you are so great about sitting down at the computer and participating. Your teacher asked the students to take turns introducing themselves and sharing one thing with the class. You showed them your Allosaurus figurine and said, "This is an Allosaurus. It lived during the Jurassic period and was a carnivore. That means it ate meat." Your teacher made a "Mind. Blown." expression and said, "Wow! You shared so much great information!"

And she definitely knows you like dinosaurs because during another call, she asked if anyone had a question about the math lesson. You raised your hand and she asked, "Yes, Sawyer?" You replied, "I have a dinosaur mousepad." Hahahaha!

Love,

Mom

Enough Screen Time

Dear Sawyer,

I have always been impressed with how mature you are for a little kid. Case in point: You helped me watch MuiMui in her room today while I did some housework even though I know you really didn't want to because you wanted to play with your toys in your room instead. But there's more to this story: After I finished my housework, I told you that you could watch some TV as a thank you for taking care of your sister, but you--who loves watching TV--said, "No thank you. I already had a [Google Meet] call and watched Dinosaur Train, so that's enough screen time." Color me impressed!

Love,

Mom