Setting the Home Table

Hope….

“Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all – “- Emily Dickinson

Dear Eleven-Year Old Girl,

As your parents our hope for you never stops at all. As you continue to spread your wings, and worldview, I wonder how that feels for you? Our only child, for whom we want so much, and for whom we also pass not just our hopes for you, but also those we continue to pursue.

In this unfathomable past year and a half, in which so much has been taken away, we continue to be in awe of your resilience, spirit and hope. Your first year of middle school, begun in a pandemic, with intermittent in- person and virtual learning, taxed us all to the core. There were tough days and long nights in which we weren’t sure which way to turn. The overwhelming pressures of navigating social and academic hurdles, presented a rocky mountain to climb. Now as you begin your second year of middle school, I look back on all that you leaned last year, all the paths that you forged, and exhale just a bit.

We have turned a page in which you close your bedroom door a little more, need us in different ways, especially when you need a little extra money to head up to the “Avenue,” and continue to perfect the eye roll. With each turn of the page, what does not change is your focus on challenging yourself to be better. Whether it is late summer nights on the lawn practicing the perfect cartwheel or long showers in which we listen as you work to nail that high note, you dream big and are not afraid for the world to know it.

Maybe I should have taken more of a cue when you were a toddler, spending so much time in the bath belting out “God Bless America” or making up songs that fit your mood that day. Or that time when at just four, and the youngest summer camper, you got up on that stage for the magic show and pulled a rabbit out of your hat. And of course, when you took the stage at your vocal recital, surrounded by a chorus of adult classmates and like an old pro, lulled us all with, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

As I think back to those bathtub serenades, early ballet and Little Gym recitals, with each you were collecting the seeds that have fed your unwavering confidence. This year those seed have truly sprouted as you have found your performance voice. After years of working on your piano, which led to accompanying vocal lessons, your voice is taking first chair. When you came home late last spring and said you wanted to try out for the Philadelphia Girl’s Choir, I was truly out of my depth. I knew little about this prestigious group and highly celebrated organization, known for their international performances and world tours. So together we learn about solfege, and never to have ice in your drinks before an audition.

While you voice finds its depth so does your independence. More than once you have reminded me of a lesson or a practice which I had forgotten. That independence catapulted last summer with your long-awaited and pandemic-postponed sleep away summer camp on the Chesapeake. Camp Tockwogh, which changed a bit since your Dad first sailed its shores over thirty years ago, brought a time of excitement, trepidation, and ultimately newfound beautiful waters for us all. Your sail continued into sixth grade and after school sports, which for you was volleyball. Watching you and your teammates work together to figure out how to get that ball over the net was quite a ride. Now we will hit pause on sports for the upcoming trimester so that you can rehearse for your role as Sally in the upcoming school play, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.” No moss is growing on you as you add to your growing repertoire, all self-selected.

Chestnut Cabin

There is irony in you being selected for the role of Sally, given that we said goodbye to our sweet Sally girl earlier this fall. Who would have thought that such a little guinea pig would bring so much love into our home and hearts?

As I sit here on this chilly fall November evening, you are in the basement with three friends you started school with as little 4 and 5-year-old pre-K girls, with ribbons in your hair and wide eyes filed with anticipation. With the separation of the pandemic, I hadn’t seen some of these girls in over a year, and now here you all are so grown up. The wonder is still in your eyes but has taken a bit of a back seat to the assertiveness and confidence that fills you all. The sassy attitudes find their place next to the uncertainty that comes with eleven. The genuine excitement you have to be together is contagious and gives me such a tremendous gift of gratitude and hope that you never stop.

Keep growing sweet girl, keep questioning, take the extra step, dig deep, spread kindness and most importantly, continue to be true to you and never stop.

Love, your Mom and Dad

Highlights of 2021 Softball Championship and long-awaited and much needed family time in South Carolina, Stone Harbor, Michigan and Vermont.