The Easter Bunny, the Birds and the Bees

 Maximus,

  A few weeks ago we had "the talk." You were wanting some "swaggy clothes" so we went shopping.  Side note- you and I have very different ideas of what is swaggy at this point in your life (see photo of the outfit you wanted to wear to your school Night of Excellence... in May... in Arizona!). Anyway, I let you sit in the front seat in the van, which you are still a little young for. I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to you about some pretty grown up things. First, I asked you if you believed in the Easter Bunny. You said 'yes' initially which I interpreted as your effort to tell me what you thought I wanted to hear. I said, "its ok if you don't" and you said that you have thought it was kind of a weird concept for a couple of years now. [Side note- it IS a weird and kind of creepy concept, haha]. Ultimately I told you that the Easter Bunny is not real but is something grown ups do to make the really important holiday of Easter fun for kids. 

With that out of the way I figured we might as well move right on to the sex talk. Since I am friends with the mom's of many of your friends I had caught wind that this information was becoming more readily available in 4th grade and I wanted to make sure you heard it from me or dad first. Dad was more than happy to yield to me on this one. I asked you if you know what sex is. You looked at me in shock. You answered honestly that you had an idea but didn't really know. So we talked about it. We talked about the good and the bad.  You were clearly a bit uncomfortable but you were very mature and had some pretty insightful questions about STDs and otherwise. I felt like the conversation went about as well as it could have and we ended with you knowing there was no question that was off limits if you ever wanted to talk more.

We didn't talk about Santa... I wasn't ready for that ;).

Just one more step of growing up. Every night when I tuck you in I still sing the Taylor Swift song to you, "Never Grow Up." I've done this for many years but now at the end I add, "but it's ok to grow up and I am happy I get to be a part of it."

I love you,

 Mom

4th Grade Field Trip and Mom/Max Ski Trip

 Hey buddy!

  I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how proud I am of you. A couple weeks ago I went with you on your 4th grade field trip with you as a chaperone. It was the first time in 2 years that you had a field trip because of the pandemic and I was one of the lucky few parents to get to go. 

 

We went to the AZ Museum of Natural History which was really cool because that was your favorite place as a little kid when you were obsessed with dinosaurs. We even had your 3rd birthday party there! And now as a big kid you have been very interested in learning about Native American tribes and culture.

  It was so fun for me to be able to observe you with your classmates and see how you all interacted. It was clear that everyone liked and respected you. You seem to be a leader among your friends. I was most impressedwith how you interacted with people who weren't your friends. You included kids who were being left out and you were respectful and inquisitive to the adults who were tasked with teaching groups of rowdy 4th graders about natural history. 

  On one occasion there was an old man teaching about something and he was clearly getting frustrated and irritable toward the kids. He kind of snapped which only seemed to make some of the kids act worse. But then you, noticing his frustration and having empathy for him, made it a point to ask some good, thoughtful questions and helped him to calm down. 

   I was so impressed and proud that day. Even when you are naughty or whiney or fight with your brother, I know you are a good good kid.

   Last week you and I took a quick trip up to Flagstaff and spent a day skiing. Just you and me. I loved it. I loved that you wanted to spend the time with me. We laughed a lot. Got a little panicked on the chair lift, and got better at skiing, considering we are both amateurs. We made a lot of great memories.

I love you bud.