Author: matt.kelemen

There’s a ritual at Dylan’s elementary school. Every Friday, one student is the “special student” and gets the opportunity to bring in a few treasures from home. In class, the rest of the students interview the special student and then all of the students write about the special student and draw pictures.

Yesterday was Dylan’s day and we got to be there to enjoy it with him. It was amazing to watch him lead the class in question and answer and to see his pride at everyone writing about him. He also got to take Bono el mono, the class mascot, home with him and keep a journal about his an Bono’s activities. It’s really quite adorable. I love first grade.

After a one-year hiatus from having a family-themed Halloween, we were back to a fearsome foursome this year. Dylan donned the sporty quidditch robes of  our favorite protagonist Harry Potter and proudly designed and made his swift Firebolt to help him capture the golden snitch and win the Tri-Wizard Tournament. For those of you who know Dylan, you’ll know embodying the competitive spirit of a quidditch match was a tough assignment for him — okay, not so much. Adela was a dead ringer for Hermione Granger, eager to role play wizard classes as she enthusiastically raised her hand to share an encyclopedic knowledge of spells and potions. As Lupin puts it, “Hermione, you are without question, the brightest witch of your age, you will prosper with or without my instruction.” Jeannette jumped at the chance to be Head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration professor Minerva McGonagall, and Matt was happy to assume the role of Arthur Weasley, patriarch of the Weasley family and Ministry of Magic bureaucrat, whose costume required only a trenchcoat and wand.

A week of Halloween festivities, with school trips to the pumpkin patch and costume parades, culminated  on Halloween Night as we welcomed friends over for trick-or-treating in the neighborhood and a casual get together fueled by candy loot and some excellent bottles of wine. Stay tuned for more pictures of the Día de los Muertos on the heals of Halloween….

Maybe one day soccer will mean as much here as it does in the rest of the world. Maybe one day I’ll be able to open the sports section and read all about the weekend matches, rather than settling for one small summary hidden amidst the baseball and football news. Of course, by the time that day does come to pass, we probably won’t be reading newspapers anymore. But for now, I’ll have to settle for watching the joy on Adela’s face as she kicks a ball around a field. Today was her very first day of soccer and it was a treat to watch. She was bedecked in her blue SoccerKids uni and Kelme cleats (all handed down from Dylan and happily received), her hair back in a braid. She jumped right in and seemed to love every minute of it, especially since her friend Quincy was there with her. Now I’m going to have to brush up on the best women players in the world so I can start telling Adela who to emulate. Besides Brazilian star Marta, any suggestions?