Rocky road

One of my volunteer jobs at school is to be the Monday reading companion in Zach's class. Each kid takes a turn and comes and read a book aloud to me. It's great practice for the kid and it's great fun to me to hang out with each kid individually. There's a whole range of reading skills in the class, and Zach is probably among the most proficient. But I have to tell you what is different about Zach. While all of the other kids can read the words, and some can put some expression into the words, there's no one who reads with quite as much...relish as Zach. As he sits down with this enormous grin on his face, he's got so much anticipation it's like he's preparing to eat an enormous feast. He reads well enough, but what sets him apart is just how much he is absolutely loving the story itself. And to me that's the beauty of reading - it's not just that he's technically capable, it's that he really, truly enjoys it.

This week's book was some kind of silly cat story, and by the time it was his turn to read, he couldn't wait to tell me about it. We read a few pages with him cracking himself up along the way, and then he stopped so he could turn to a different chapter and read me a part that he thought was especially funny. He was practically falling off the chair he was laughing so hard while he was reading it. Maybe it's just being with his mom. Maybe he was especially silly that day. But I can tell you at least for that day, there was no single kid in the class that got as much of a kick out of their book as Zach did.

Luke is, for lack of a better word, a classic tween. Every day is an adventure in grappling with big-kid emotions and anxieties, while savoring the little-kid joys. He loves playing soccer, but he's frustrated with himself for not having scored a goal yet. He's gone to some Dodger playoff games with Dave, and the teacher complimented him for how maturely he handled his homework on those nights. Yet on another day he completely forgot about a social studies test he had so he never studied for it...and still got an A-. He's fascinated by Bear Grylls and is counting the days until we can go camping. He's frustrated by a report he has to do on Palm Springs. He's laughing his head off at funny Family Feud bloopers. He's obsessed with getting a "six-pack" so he does 100 situps every morning and night. He sails through his 4:30 swim lesson and then begins a steady downhill slide as we work our way home, so that by 6:00 as dinner is ready, he's pale and listless from lack of food. He's growing in leaps and bounds right before our eyes.

There are two very distinct kid personalities in our house, and many days I wonder how they can ever coexist peacefully. To be honest, most of the time they don't. But every now and then we find the right thing to get them both happy and sharing the same cause. More often than not, the answer is rocks.

That's right, rocks. Cranky kids? Fighting kids? Take them to a rocky beach and all troubles are forgotten. For as long as they last, we will be grateful for those simple joys.