for my middle child

Dear Jack,

Today was a good day. Grant went off to his first day of first grade, and after he left, you and I had a happy, splendid, “delightful and pleasant” day! I loved being with you today, Jack. This morning, we folded a little laundry and put Caroline down for a nap, and talked about sharks, whales, and tsunamis. You watched Diego while I ran on the treadmill, and then we sat down together in the playroom and made a zoo with your animals and the cardboard bricks. It was amazing! You made the coolest alligator cage, and I really liked that you gave the sea lion its own blue-brick pool.

You were excited that you got to play Stanley on the computer while I took a shower. You did a great job—all by yourself! We talked about animals and then you decided to make a cool picture of sea creatures to send to Uncle Andrew. Caroline woke up, and we made lunch—“exactly what Grant is having at school,” you said. So you had an Uncrustable (which you didn’t love), grapes, pear slices, and chocolate milk. You said the lunch prayer, and it was just you, me, and Caroline! Then, we went on errands. You got a sucker at the bank. You waited patiently in line at the post office. And then… we went to the park! What a great time we had! I pushed you on the merry-go-round, you held Caroline all by yourself and went down the slide with her, and then you pretended you were a jaguar on another planet! I got to be a human, and you promised you wouldn’t bite me. You used your super-duper sense of smell to sniff out poisonous bugs, and pushed Caroline around in her space-pod stroller. You were good-natured when it was time to go, and I was proud of you, because I knew you would have liked to stay and play longer.

When we got home and Caroline was asleep, we worked on your very first lesson in your reading book. You did great, Jack! You were so anxious and excited for Grant to get home, and when he did, you both played so happily all the way until dinnertime. You even “jogged” up and down the street with him while he rode his bike. That must have been hard, Jack. We promise we’re going to fix up your little bike with training wheels, so that you can ride, too.

Thank you for today, Jack. I loved talking with you and being with you—just you—almost the whole day. You are a wonderful, kind boy. Thank you for always trying to make Caroline happy. Thank you for being such a good friend to Grant. And thank you for bringing me so much joy. I will never forget this day!

Love,

Mom