9 years!

Jack is 9. We have been parents for 9 years. It's hard to believe we existed before that. Who were those people? Too bad I didn't keep a blog then. This blog is also 9 years old. 9! The transformation of becoming a parent is impossible to overstate or accurately state. My focus and identity are completely different now. That may also be due to aging and experiencing life.

In any case, Jack is 9. He talks most about Minecraft. He enjoys swimming and our weekly trip to circus school. He reads most of the time he is at home. Our biggest parenting challenge is control over the screens in Jack's life. He seems ambivalent about school.. or maybe I am just ambivalent about his school experience as I experience it. Hard to separate my perceptions from my perceptions of his perceptions.

We are in Mexico right now... We started our vacation at a bland but kid-friendly all-inclusive resort outside of Puerto Vallarta. I wouldn't come back but it's been an easy three days. Jack was thrilled to spend his birthday on an airplane (in front of a screen) and then in the ocean and swimming pool later. I am grateful to be with him and our little family.

Jack declined to be in this photo: