Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Night Before...

Well, here we are already...


At the ripe old age of a mere three-and-a-half, the Dynamic Duo will be officially embarking on their journey through the hallowed halls of education, starting tomorrow...for the next 17+ years...

Too soon?

OF COURSE it's too soon! But what isn't, really?

Today, the trusty Drop-In re-opened after a long summer, and the boys got to meet Shelly and Sarah's replacement, Annie, who led a modest group in songs and story-time...Once upon a time, she'd be seeing them regularly...

But why argue? It's all for the best, especially Nathaniel...

And just down the hall, is class room 3, where the boys will begin their grand adventure tomorrow morning, under the tutelage of the agreeably no-nonsense "Miss P, at 8:55 am. Carter is well aware of it, and is very excited...




















Pops stepped out for a bit mid-afternoon to register for the Toronto International Film Festival...

After dinner, the boys were sporting their sharp new hair cuts and were winding down after a busy day, which climaxed with an upstairs romp at Gabriel's, and a screening of Disney's "The Little Mermaid"...

Everything changes tomorrow: Karren will arrive at her usual time but the boys won't see her until lunch. And after school, she'll pick them up again for romps in the park or at their friend's places. Kyla will be attending the nearby Montessori school. Gabriel the French immersion, Aaron the Catholic school. Big changes for everyone...


The biggest change, of course, will be for Pops, who has enjoyed several years of solo time with the guys before he started his daily grind in the trenches of television production. Mornings in the kitchen, behind the gate, were where we discovered The Imagination Movers and The Beatles. Once the gate came down, the zaniness extended into breakfast in the living room. I rarely sat those mornings, as it was darn near IMPOSSIBLE to keep Carter and Nathaniel in the same room. But think of the calories I was burning...

Nathaniel's monthly morning therapy visits from Joey, Amanda, and Kathy were the norm for years. Now, those responsibilities will be transferred and undertaken by the school... And lunch was a rare special treat. Typically, I'd pop out from behind a tree to surprise them in Stanley Park, but on rainy days, I'd emerge in the living room to the shrill enthusiasm of Carter, Nathaniel Kyla, Shaan, Dagny, Gabriel, Gabby, and whomever the heck ELSE we could cram into our tiny living space... Tomorrow, we've been ordered to leave them at the gates and disappear immediately, to establish a routine. This command will be a lot harder on me than it will on them, but when I think of the enormity of the social and educational opportunities that await them--esp. Nathaniel, who stands to benefit so much--I can't possibly be sad. Despite the fact that we live in a sprawling, insane mess of a city that spans nearly three million people, our boys can walk to their school within seconds, and have a network of friends and experiences I can't even compare to my own at that age. I have to let you go a little bit sooner than I'd prefer, boyos, but, hey, who's that guy hanging in the tree outside your window...? And in closing, here's one of Carter's earliest, favorite songs, courtesy of The Imagination Movers...

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