Summer & A Lesson from Evie's Teacher

Today was the last day of school for the girls this year. It's summer! I now have a first and fourth grader. I think that makes me about 300 years old.

I remember how nervous I was sending both of them off to school last fall. It was Evie's first day of school at a new school for the third time in three years. Her comment from the September before in Studio City, that "nobody notices me at recess", still rang fresh in my ears. I remember thinking to myself, "Good luck!" as she walked in the door.

Good luck is exactly what both girls had this year. They both made close friends, learned more than I imagined they could in one school year, and walked to school everyday with smiles on their faces (unless we were running late, in which case Evie would be nearly in tears wailing, "C'mon Mom, we're going to be laaaate!"). A lot of the joy they both found at school this year can be attributed to their wonderful teachers.

Evie's teacher wrote a letter to the class that she read out loud today. I just thought it was beautiful -- and a lesson for all of us. Hopefully she won't mind that I copied part of it here:

"...I hope you'll remember that we all have strengths and areas we can improve -- both in our academics and in our relationships with others. If you're ever feeling down about something that's hard for you, think of something you excel at or enjoy because you have many talents. I've learned that life is all about our attitudes and outlooks. During my travels abroad [she taught in Ecuador for several years before moving back to Boulder] and around our country I've seen people living with much less but still with smiles on their faces. I hope you'll value your connections with others and your personal goals and accomplishments more than appearances and possessions. But most of all, please, be optimistic in life. People around you will thrive from the joy and positive energy you share with them. Most of the time, all you have to do is smile and you've already brightened my day!...Enjoy your summer, enjoy 4th grade, and enjoy life!"

I found that letter more valuable than all the math or reading or science that should could have taught Evie all year. Except that I love that she was teaching all of those subjects with those values behind her teaching.

And so, with summer starting, I would like to just take a minute to say THANK YOU to all the teachers out there. Not only Lucy and Evie's wonderful teachers, but to all of you who make a difference in children's lives. I have seen from my own girls how much difference a good teacher can make.

July in Los Angeles

Summer is not necessarily Los Angeles' finest season. For most of the year, southern Californians can look at the U.S. weather map and smile. When the rest of the country is being pummeled with ice storms, we have cool, breezy days. When spring rains are drenching the east coast, we have abundant sunshine. (Of course this has its own problems, like droughts, but I'm just talking about weather here...) But in the summer, especially in the valley, we have smog and unbearable heat.

Despite the less-than-desirable weather, the nice thing about Los Angeles in the summer is that there is a ton of stuff to do. Last summer, I discovered Malibu and the Getty. We basically headed to one or the other at least once a week all summer. The Getty is beautiful and high enough up to catch some of the ocean breeze. And Malibu? Sure it has beautiful beaches and tidal pools, but more importantly, it's generally about 20 degrees cooler than the valley.

This summer, we're trying out some of the other activities. Toby's dad is here this week and yesterday we took Lucy and Noni to the Hollywood Bowl Summer Sounds Brazilian concert. The show included both Hip-Hop and many styles of Brazilian music and dancing. The girls were mesmerized. Today, we checked out the free kids' yoga on the lawn at The Americana at Brand. I'd never been to the Americana before, but we'll definitely be back. Not only was the yoga great, but they also have free kids' concerts on Tuesdays. And we have yet to try the Grove's summer concert series, which I hope to check out soon as well. Also on my list? The Getty Villa and the Noah's Ark exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center.

We'll see if we get to all of it. When I asked Lucy a couple of weeks ago about starting kindergarten in the fall, she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I can't even think about that, it's too long from now." I remember summers feeling like that when I was younger and love that she views it that way. Unfortunately for me, despite the smog and heat, summer seems to be flying by much too fast.