Dear Tobin,

I was looking through old pictures on Facebook a few days ago, and I saw one of you as a baby, probably 6 months old, that Mubby had posted.  One of her friends commented on it, saying how cute you are, and Mubby responded that you’re sweet, happy, and a little bit of a stinker.  Those qualities are still alive in you:  you remain a cheerful, optimistic little guy, but you still have a mischievous streak.

One thing that’s been bringing you down the last couple of days is your loose tooth.  It’s your first one, and while you were excited at first, you’re now in that limbo zone where it gets stuck in awkward positions and is painful.  It’s been hard for you to eat, but you’re not interested in yanking it out.  I’m sure it won’t be much longer, but it’s tough to see your usually-smiling face so sad.

Photo by Gary Clarke

One thing that made you happy last weekend was your stellar performance in the Let Me Run 5K.  You’re not technically a member of the team, as it’s only open to fourth through sixth graders.  Community members are allowed to register for the race, though, and you were excited to do it.  Skitter tells me this is called running unattached.  We didn’t train as long as Miles and his teammates did, but we went on a few training runs.  I think the race-day adrenaline was really surging through your system, because you blew your previous time away.  You ran the entire 5k (3.1 miles) in 30:30, when previously you’d been running twelve- to thirteen-minutes miles.  You were very proud of yourself, and I was very proud of you too.  You were also pretty proud to have beaten a lot of big kids, including your brother.  I asked you not to rub it in his face, a request with which you’ve mostly complied.

The Cedar Rapids paper ran a story on the event, and the accompanying slide show featured a great picture of you.  I was loading it up to show you, and I said, “Tobin, you’re famous.”  Miles said, “AGAIN?”  It’s true, the media love you.  I think it’s your hair.  You’re very photogenic.

It’s nice that Let Me Run has come to a close, because we’re still busy with baseball.  You’re on the Royals this year, and you predictably made friends right away and settled into team life.  You’re one of the bigger kids on the team this time around, and you’ve been able to do a lot of good hitting and fielding.  Due to scheduling issues, I’ve taken you to quite a few of your games.  When I’m not trying to keep Callum from doing dangerous things on the bleachers, I’ve enjoyed watching you play.  I don’t know a whole lot about baseball, but I know you’re a high-energy and enthusiastic player, much as you’re a high-energy and enthusiastic human being.

You only have about a week left of kindergarten. and even more shockingly, only a few months left of being six.  Sometimes people ask me if I’m still happy with the decision to wait a year and have you be old for your class rather than young, and honestly I feel pretty much neutral about it.  You’ve done great this year, and you’ve made good friends and learned a lot.  You probably would have done just as well last year.  I stopped by your classroom the other day, and the Behavioral Specialist was just leaving.  She told me that you’re smart and a good leader.  Maybe the leadership skills have to do with being one of the older kids in your grade.  In any case, I can’t complain about your kindergarten experience.  Your reading and writing skills have really taken off, and you’ve entered a stage I remember Miles going through of preferring to write notes to us rather than talking.  This only happens now and then—never fear, you’re still a chatterbox.

You’re excited for the summer classes you’ll be starting shortly after school gets out.  You chose mostly outdoorsy ones, and we have lots of good stuff on our summer activity list, too.  I like having more time with you in the summer, and now that Miles is old enough to stay home by himself for short stints, we can do some of the things he doesn’t enjoy as much as you and Callum.  I’m thinking splash pad, picnics in the park, and stomping around in the creek.

Your current favorites:  the baby chicks that just hatched in your kindergarten class, baseball (both with your team and with Miles in the park), reading and writing, cuddling up with your dad at night to read Harry Potter, and after-school ice cream.

Congratulations on a really excellent school year, my Tobin.  We’re going to have so much fun this summer, your hair will stand on end.

Love,

Mommy