Tucker performed in his second piano recital last weekend. He played two movements from Suite in C :: Classic Fanfare and Jolly Jig. He spent lots of time preparing each piece.
Last night after baseball practice Tucker explained that he'd chosen, with some help from Grandpa Tim, a favorite baseball player. He picked Cal Ripken not for a record breaking number of homeruns or for his shortstop skills, but because Cal never missed a game.
For us, one of the best parts of each week is watching Tucker take piano lessons. His instructor is brilliant, seamlessly weaving in theory and science and history, and also showing interest in Tucker's life outside of music, asking about school and sports and travel.
We are proud of Tucker not so much for his progress and proficiency, but for his dedication to practicing.
And we are grateful for the support of friends and family who came to hear him play.
If you missed it, there's video below, thanks to Grandpa Rod!
Tollie's been talking a lot about frogs and toads lately.
Although he let go the two toads the boys caught last week, he has several small, bright green toy frogs that leap around the dining room table during meals and hide stealthily under wooden block bridges and give each other piggy back rides slash mate.
He draws elaborate scenes with amphibians in every shade of green.
And now there's a new bucket of tadpoles on the back patio, feasting on romaine from RoRo's garden and growing bigger under careful scrutiny.
This morning Tollie was worried about where we'd set the tadpoles free, afraid that they might be scared of predators in the river and have to spend their days hiding behind rocks.
We talked a little about risk versus reward, about how the frogs might have happier lives exploring a big river full of things that might eat them than safe(ish) in the small plastic container on the table here.
Coincidentally, today was Tolliver's last day of preschool.
Sometimes I worry that into this busy mix -- baseball practices and blueprint revisions, piano recitals and big kid playdates -- we're pouring our wee babe’s irreplaceable first year. It sounds ridiculously dramatic, I know. And maybe that's part of what it means to be a third/fourth child... they join the family, rather than create it. Still, I just want to be sure I'm paying enough attention.
More than once in our fifteen year marriage it's felt like we've been speeding into things with our eyes closed.
But our hearts have been open and our hands have been joined, and that’s a start.
