Putting Down Roots

Crossing the threshold

So here we are in Philadelphia.  New jobs, new school, new house, new city- new life- all in less than a season.   In the four plus years in which I have been blessed to be “Lila’s Mom,” my compass has found a new pull and a mighty force it is.  After over twenty years of discovering myself in New York it took the lens of a little girl’s future to provide a massive recalibration of our trajectory. 

Conventional wisdom tells us that children make us more risk-adverse- we settle down, invest in the college fund, up the 401k contribution; make ‘responsible decisions.”  But what about the risk-taking- the little voice that encourages us to lead with our children’s future- to make often radical directional shifts based only on our parental instincts?  So as I drove home one spring evening- battling the corrosive tunnel traffic, with visions of an endless commute clouding our future, I turned down the radio and listened to the sounds of clarity and decided to take a risk.   After some lengthy conversations Greg and I began the charting of our new course.
 

We looked at our first house in the New York suburbs over three years ago- we had multiple realtors, narrowed, expanded, and adjusted our real estate focus more often than we care to remember- the irony is that all of that searching enabled us to buy the first house we saw in Philadelphia.  Lila was accepted into Greg’s alma mater- however we were initially told the class was full.  Lila was only able to assume her place in the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH) pre-K class of 2028 because another little girl’s family relocated- our quick directional change created a nail-biter.  This celestial alignment sealed the deal and sent us ninety miles south down the turnpike.

Just over three months since we first crossed the threshold of 502 Woodbrook Lane, we are slowly settling in and finding our rhythm.  I no longer need GPS to get to my office, have memorized the back door code at SCH and after a little summer break, Lila has found her place amongst her eighteen classmates.  In Mrs. Daly and Mrs. LaSorda’s class, the girls have weekly job assignments- Lila has carried the mantle of “snack-preparer, “meteorologist,”  “line leader” and “guinea pig caretaker” (these two classroom pets are named Jack and Henry- Lila skillfully persuaded the class that her cousin’s names were the perfect monikers to bestow upon these furry friends).  Our growing four year old is learning Mandarin with Miss Chu, loves the physics lab and is making friends we hope will last a lifetime. 

First Day of School

Finley and Lila at Homecoming

 

 

 

 

Lila with Jack and Henry

There are many projects to keep us busy as we work to make our eighty year old house feel like a home but we are getting there.  We are thankful to have found a place where baseballs are tossed in the alley behind our house and a missing ingredient is just a door knock away.  So as I sit here in our living room listening to the leaves fall and enjoying one of our first fires, it feels good to have found our way home.

Neighborhood Buddies

 

What’s new:  Lila is 40 inches and 34lbs and wears a size 9 shoe (9.5 in pink cowboy boots).  Her favorite meal at our new local spot on Germantown Avenue is – cod, broccoli and applesauce ( I do not make this up) and like many of us- enjoys frozen yogurt, ice cream and most sweet treats.  Lila is still under the Frozen spell, though we escaped the cult of Halloween Elsa with a little help  from Sheriff Callie.  Taking advantage of our new found space, Lila loves to host full family dance parties and basement roughhousing.  Lila continues to practice her letters, numbers and counting.  

Our Favorite Cowpoke

Lightening Up

As we “spring ahead” and begin to emerge from our long winter’s nap and revel in extra daylight my thoughts naturally lead to our growing daughter.  It hit me when during our first playground outing in months our neighbor did not recognize Lila and when I asked him how his baby was, he pointed to his waddling toddler- yes, it has been a very long winter.  While it is certainly a bit too soon to look for the first flower buds- the children, liberated from the layers, are showing their little heads.   The long-since white snow is relinquishing its freeze, and drip by drip providing a clearing for sneakers and scooters.  Speaking of which, Lila put on her own sneakers today and for the most part can dress herself (quite colorfully) and scoots around the neighborhood tennis courts like a pro. 

With this blossoming independence also comes a new found assertiveness.  Maybe I missed the Parenting 101 chapter but I wasn’t prepared for door slamming and face-contorting rants of “just leave me alone” and "I don't want you" at 3 and a half.  Is that why we got her a room of her own?  Lila’s vocabulary and “phraseology” continues to grow so we get a lot of “let me think about it,” “we’ll talk about it,” and our personal favorite, “where is that damn daddy?”  I have no idea where she gets this stuff…

Enrolled in the young pre-school class since September Lila’s routine has gained more structure- something we appreciate as Lila extends her self-expression.  She actually has homework- which may seem too much at this age and though occasionally fraught with some resistance, does provide time for quiet concentration and a window into the rapidly turning wheels.  Lila has graduated from the Little Gym to weekly formal ballet lessons at Hudson Dance Studio. In a small class setting every Saturday morning we watch our willful daughter learn technique and practice patience.

 

Patience certainly does not come easy at this age – there are many frustrations, foot stomps and tears that come out of nowhere and flow like a river.  So we have learned to take a minute and in the process realized that sometimes hugs and talking it out are better than time outs.  As one of  Lila’s favorite PBS characters, Daniel Tiger wisely teaches, “When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take deep breath and count to four.”  It has been a long winter and we all are certainly in need of some relief and a collective exhale.  I picked Lila up early from school today and we celebrated the coming of spring with ice cream and a walk along the promenade.  As I sat on the bench watching this suddenly big girl running and playing in the late afternoon sun without a care in the world I realized that a little more sunlight really does make us see more clearly. 

 

What’s new:  Lila is 38.5 inches and 30lbs and wears a size 8 shoe.  Time to put away the boots and break out the Toms!  If you have been to our house you know have the princess kingdom continues- Sophia, Cinderella, Ariel… they are all here.  Greg is a great “prince king” to Lila’s Cinderella.  Lots of dress-up and the infamous flower sundress is still holding on, though the Sophia dress is a close second.  Frozen hit us hard and was on a daily run but now that spring is here we may really “Let it Go.”   Lila is now up to the letter “N” at school, working on "simple math" and also takes computer class every Tuesday.