I sit back, watching my kindergarten students interact in the dramatic play center, mixing up imaginary food and having fun with the farm set and dinosaur bin. Watch them role-playing. Make-believing. Pretending. Watch them piece together chain links with number pendants to make dog leashes for the play puppies and create Lego masterpieces in the math and science centre. I observe their little hands fashioning airplanes and hearts and all manner of interesting creations from our well-used set of classroom Wiki-Stix. Watch them as they chatter and converse over lunch. Listen to their banter.
This thought does not escape me: how quickly these tender years fly by.
Just yesterday you too were an innocent five-year-old boy. Tractors and Gators and trucks and cars your preferred toy. Lego came next, followed by bikes with training wheels and soccer balls. Anything John Deere for quite some time. And oh the books. Loads and loads of books. Dog-eared copies of a few.
Where did the time fly off to?
Blink my eyes, and you are five years old. Blink again and now you're a fine young man waiting to start the final chapter of your last three years at home.
Do you know how proud we are of who you are? Proud of who you have been and proud of who you are becoming?
Right now, you are exactly who you were meant to be, and we couldn't love you anymore today than we already do.
The older I get, the more I am appreciating the little moments I am given. Tonight, I borrowed your coat that I had given you for Christmas, wearing it for my walk. It still strikes me strange that you are now taller than I. I pray that I will never lose the picture in my mind of you -- that tiny baby boy I held in my arms nearly fifteen years ago. I remember clutching you fiercely to my chest, wanting to shelter and protect you. A mother's shielding embrace. And now your strong arms wrap around my shoulders when I lean in for a hug. I cannot quickly adjust to this change in roles; I am now the one who looks up to you.
As you and your classmates move into this next phase of your youth, remember who you are. You all belong to someone. And you, Son, are ours: a boy born to two parents who have loved you even before you were born. When someone is loved, as are you, that someone might not realize what this privilege entails. Our love for you encompasses so much:
For it promises to always provide as we are able. Covenants to continually be involved, available and present. Commits to see you through the tough times as well as the best. Gives its word that it will stand by you, whatever it takes.
Just yesterday, it seems, I was a young mama waiting by the gate for a little boy to come bounding up the walkway from his first day of school. Wanting to hear the details. Hoping for the best. Those tender years have come and gone.
Blink and there you were.
Blink again and here we are today.
Books For Teens & Tweens
Open Image ModalMy neighbor's chickens do a lot of pecking and squawking and egg laying. Those are normal chickens. Dirt, Sugar, Poppy and Sweetie, however, have bigger plans. Not content with life in the coop, they're out to solve mysteries and fight crime. They'll start with a panicky Squirrel and move on from there.
Open Image ModalClaudia and Reese Tapper are at war. Maybe. Or maybe they're not. If they are, no one is really sure who started it or why. What starts out with the usual pranks between siblings quickly escalates until these twins have to decide whether they're willing to pay the price to destroy each other. Anyone with a brother or sister will be able to relate.
Open Image ModalTake a tribble, cross it with Hermione and throw in a bit of Nancy Drew and you'll start to get a sense of what you're in for when you meet Pip Bartlett. Pip can talk to magical creatures -- although not everyone believes her. When the Fuzzles invade town, it's up to Pip to figure out what's going on and stop them from taking over.
Open Image ModalTheo Tenpenny is having a rough summer. She's broke, her mom won't leave the house, her neighbor hates her chickens, and her grandfather has just died, leaving her in possession of what could possibly be a stolen (and priceless) Renaissance painting. And you thought summer school was bad.
Open Image ModalIvy Pocket is a clueless and slightly deluded orphan with an attitude. She's also the last person you'd expect to be entrusted with the delivery of a priceless necklace. Part Jane Eyre, part Lemony Snicket and a lot of fun, Anyone But Ivy Pocket is a must-read of the summer.
Open Image ModalWhen Owen discovers his classmate, Bethany, climbing out of a book, school goes from boring to life-changing in an instant. When Owen learns that Bethany is half-fictional and is jumping in and out of books to find her father, Owen blackmails Bethany into taking him into his favorite series. What he finds there, however, will change his life forever.
Open Image ModalMost pirates are brave and bold and a little rough around the edges. Not Shivers. He's the scarediest pirate who ever lived. Still, you can't help but love him and his loyal fishmate. Read this book and you'll never look at pirates the same way again. Or giant squid, for that matter.
Open Image ModalIf you're looking for a magical and heartwarming story for your summer reading, this is it. Micah's grandfather has long regaled him with stories of the Circus Mirandus and its host of extraordinary creatures and performers -- including the Man Who Bends Light, who owes Grandpa Ephraim a miracle. When Micah realizes his grandfather is dying, he sets out to find the Circus and collect on the Lightbender's promise to save his grandfather. But what happens if he doesn't succeed?
Open Image ModalSometimes, things happen. Bad things. Sometimes, you get ripped up by a tornado and sent to Oz, to discover that the story you've been told all your life may not, in fact, be true. Dorothy might be evil -- and if she is, maybe she has to die. For anyone who likes a good story turned on its head, Dorothy Must Die is a must-read. Then, check out the sequel, The Wicked Must Rise, to see what happens next.
Open Image ModalCallum Hunt has to pass the Iron Trial to be admitted to the Magisterium -- it's every kid's dream. At least, it is for everyone but Callum. His father warned him against the dangers of the Iron Trial and the magic it involves. So now Callum is doing his best to fail -- but at what cost?
Open Image ModalMax Kilgore didn't mean to unleash a devil. Really. But now it's here and living in Max's basement. In order to protect everything he loves, Max has to comply with his new houseguest's demands, which stretch to lots of junk food and a hot tub. There's plenty of hilarious to balance out the troubling in this new novel from the author of Croak.
Open Image ModalMare Barrow has red blood, which in today's world wouldn't be anything remarkable. In her world, however, Mare is a second-class citizen at best, ruled by those with silver blood and supernatural powers. But one day, Mare discovers that she has powers, too -- and becomes embroiled in a dangerous game set in motion by the king in order to save her life and those of the people she loves.
Open Image ModalAmy Van Dorn has a problem. She doesn't have any friends, which could be because she can only speak with the help of a computer and has been surrounded by person aides her entire life. Cerebral Palsy has its downsides. But this is her senior year of high school, and Amy is determined to change everything. And that's when she meets Matthew and things change in ways she could never have imagined.