Lasts and firsts

The past few weeks have brought many 'lasts' and 'firsts.' We squeezed in a few 'lasts' as we tried to hang onto summer for a few more warm days: our last trip to walk the trails at a local nature center before the leaves change colors, our official last summer trip to our favorite ice cream place, last roasted corn on the grill, and our last trip to the Lake Michigan beach in Milwaukee with Aunt Alicia.

Our 'firsts' included all three children's first days of school! Aaron entered 3rd grade, and Nathan began second grade. Even Anya Rashi is attending "school" at the YMCA while I go to a strength and resistance class. It's one hour, three times a week, and she brings a little lunch box with her snack -- this is by far the most exciting part of the deal for her!

She is doing wonderfully there, and loves the routine. The hour she attends includes story time, snack and arts/crafts. What more could a girl want? She was very proud of herself after her first visit, and beamed as she told me "Mommy, I not cry!"

Our autumn schedule is now in full swing as well, bringing Aaron's first boychoir rehearsals, and Nathan's first Cub Scout field trip to a rehabilitation center for birds of prey. He asked so many questions that I think the presenter was worried he would eventually ask something she didn't know the answer to! We also had our first multi-boy sleepover in the tent . . . which was kind of a misnomer, since not much actual sleep happened . . .

I'm experiencing a 'first' of my own -- a full-length script I wrote was chosen to be produced at our church this Christmas. It's called A Star Over Us, and is a drama about what the first Christmas might look like if it happened today. The first act is set in an emergency room, and the second act happens on the streets of the city outside the hospital.

I'm a kind of shocked that it was chosen, and excited to see what it looks like when it's staged. (Although I do have to say that it feels a little bit strange to think of 3,000+ people watching something I wrote . . .) Mostly, though, it feels like my Christmas came early this year!