Monthly Archives: May 2019

The last swim lesson (for now)

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May 24th marked the last lesson of my final 8-week swimming session through the CTH/YMCA partnership. Every Friday, I would board a small, yellow school bus at 9:00 a.m. and head poolside with my Lightning McQueen backpack and Batman towel. In an effort to further develop my swim skills, I spent valuable time away from the classroom because even though school is important, swimming is importanter. Haha… see what I did there?

Seriously though, I am going to miss these days and I’m pretty sure that pool and those swim coaches are going to miss my Batman moves and strokes. But “I’ll be back,” perhaps as the Terminator, someday in the future to achieve my next levels of swimming greatness.

Thanks for the swim (and life) lessons, YMCA! And thanks, mom, for being there to document my high dives & silly splashes, helping my shivering body remove those cold & wet swim trunks, and then taking me out to lunch with Dad to celebrate!

Class of 2032

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Dear future me,

You belong to the class of 2032. That means, by this time next year, we’ll be celebrating your kindergarten graduation, after having spent 180 days as a 1st-grader-in-training. You’ll likely have a bunch of new friends, but hopefully, you’ve stayed in touch with your current best buds: Ireland, Lila, and Colin.

Today, you want to be a police officer, and I’m curious to see if you’ll hang onto that dream throughout kindergarten or if you’ll explore other aspirations. I’m guessing you may also take up soccer or basketball, and with any luck, you’ll have found a way to get enrolled into that karate class you’ve been begging mom about. But, regardless of the path you choose, I promise to always be by your side!

My only advice is to pause from time to time, when you’re in that new school as a bigger fish making bigger splashes, and look downstream to remember who you are, where you came from, and what you’ve accomplished. Because surely those memories will lead you back to your 4K graduation and all that you embodied on that celebratory day… You wore your cap and gown so proudly. And your dance skills were on point. And your eyes sparkled while you skipped around with cupcake fingers. Everything about that moment was magical. But mostly, I loved how you sang at the top of your lungs, freely distributed endless hugs and high-fives, and chased your buddies until you were sweaty and out of breath… almost like you heard Darius Rucker’s refrain, “It won’t be like this for long.”

So, live it up, little man! Be bold, stay curious, and keep smiling. And if you ever experience self-doubt, just lean on your loyal fan club/paparazzi… as you probably noticed at your 4K graduation ceremony, they will forever be rooting for you.

Cheers to the Class of 2032!

Best wishes and much love with a cherry on top,
Jaeger the 4K Graduate

P.S. Be sure to check in on mom; I noticed she got teary-eyed during the 4K graduation slideshow and so she’ll probably be a bigger mess when you graduate from kindergarten. Like, maybe give her extra snuggles?

P.P.S. Is it scary exploring the world without training wheels? And how do you like your new big-boy bedroom!?

First Fish as a Five-Year-Old

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Last weekend, we headed down to the North Bend Bottoms to kick off the fishing season!

I woke up wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, unlike my sleepyhead father, who forgot my life jacket. Luckily, we had a different lifesaver along: Grandpa, who remembered the Oreos.

Part of being a 5-year-old fisherboy is boredom. But, just as I got so bored that I started missing my sister, we caught some action in the form of a Red Horse and a Sturgeon – two types of fish I’ve never seen before. Then, I was hooked!

Fishing with Dad and Grandpa is the best… Go for the Oreos and stay to see what else Grandpa packed in his lunch cooler. And, of course, it’s fun to catch fish with my five-year-old muscles, too!