What a weekend! Beautiful weather with chilly fall nights… October is the best! On Friday, the older boys participated in their first elementary camp out. Andrew and I joked about needing to keep our phones close by in case anyone met illness or injury. Half joking, half serious, I remembered the conversation as I reached for my phone at 12am to respond to a text from one of Milo’s teachers; he was coughing and couldn’t sleep. It could have been worse; there was a campfire there. A sleepy car-ride there and back, a tearful and disappointed Milo back in his own bed by 1am, then a somewhat failed attempt to fall back to sleep all resulted in a crabby Saturday morning. We all trekked back out to pick up Oliver, who looked exhausted but happy. The whole campground/schoolyard was ablaze in sunlight and quickly warming. I was reminded of how much we love their school, their teachers, their classmates, all of it. It’s a good feeling to entrust your children into the care of people you admire…

Which segues well into the next part of our weekend: circus class.

All three boys are doing well and progressing and loving their classes, but Milo paves the way just by being oldest. His movement forward into the next level opens up a new world for us all every time. I’m continually amazed and humbled by this community and the attention they are willing and able to give each student, as well as the open arms we are greeted with. It is a place of learning and teamwork, of course, but it is different from other institutions we have experienced. Here, it’s like a family. And what they are learning, to trust each other, to listen, to humble themselves and to recognize the strength in others, are all things we want our boys to learn as they grow. They are learning how to use their bodies and to be confident, but they are also learning character. I am so proud of them, and so proud of this piece of St. Louis.

On Saturday we enjoyed the company of friends and neighbors at our house and enjoyed a little fire in the fire pit on our back deck. Welcoming new people into our inner circle felt refreshing and special. Sunday was more laid back, which we needed, and we spent most of it outside. Monday was a holiday from school, so I gathered up the boys nice and early with chocolate croissants from Comet Coffee (per request from Oliver, who described them as the best because they are so “flaky and tender and chocolatey” ha ha!) and headed to the Botanical Garden, where we haven’t visited in so long. It was nice and quiet, hardly anyone there for the whole morning, surprisingly. It reminded me of old times, when all three boys were home with me all the time, before full-time school, before any sort of schedules. And there we were, me taking the same pictures only with older boys, them jumping the same ways, only slightly higher, slightly farther. With longer hair and longer limbs, as though someone stretched them from crown to heel, right down to the hairs on their heads. It made me wonder where this blog is headed, if anywhere, other than a place to watch (as Milla so accurately described once) a life unfold. And I think I’m okay with that for now, as long as my boys are (or will hopefully be). But I’m beginning to understand that their place here is going to become less and less detailed and much more private as they grow older, out of respect for them. But for now, it unfolds.